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TREESanaSHRUBS
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BURTON 0. LONGYEAR
iliiilililllillillili
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COLORADO BLUE SPRUCE
A group in Rocky Mountain National Park
TREES AND SHRUBS
OF THE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
WITH KEYS AND DESCRIPTIONS FOR
THEIR IDENTIFICATION
BY
BURTON O. LONGYEAR, B.S., M.R
Associate Professor of Forestry,
State Agricultural College of Colorado
illustrated until One 'hundred and '^vuenty-eight
Ten IDrawings by the (Author and
9^ne Colored Tlates
a p. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
1927
Copyright, 1927
by
Burton O. Longyear
.r^
Made in the United States of America
TO THE MEMORY OF
DR. WILLIAM J. BEAL
SCIENTIST,
AUTHOR, TEACHER, FRIEND
PREFACE
This volume is intended to meet in part
the increasing demand for field books of a
non-teclmical character which will provide a
ready means of identifying the plant life of
the Rocky Mountain Region. The trees and
shrubs constitute the most prominent part
of our flora which, together with their im-
portance in making our mountains beautiful,
in furnishing a home for wild life and in
supplying timber and a protective cover to
the mountain slopes, makes them of great
interest to the public.
While the book has been planned primarily
to assist persons who have httle or no botan-
ical training it is hoped that it will be helpful
also to teachers of nature study and botany
in our public schools. Forest officers, park
rangers and guides should likewise find it use-
ful in their duties and a means of increasing
their powers of service to the public.
It was deemed best to confine the work to
the more clearly defined species and to omit
PREFACE
those about which botanists appear to dis-
agree. For persons who desire to make a
more technical study of our flora there are
manuals which are suited to that purpose.
All of the species of trees and shrubs de-
scribed in the book occur in the region from
central New Mexico to Canada along both
sides of the Rocky Mountains.
The nomenclature used is based largely
upon that of the New Manual of Rocky
Mountain Botany by Coulter and Nelson,
1909, for strictly Rocky Mountain species,
and upon the seventh edition of Gray's
Manual, 1908, for species included in that
volume.
The author gratefully acknowledges favors
from the following persons in the way of ad-
\ace or in the supph^ng of material and in-
formation: The late Mr. Ellsworth Bethel,
Director of Natural History, State Museum,
Denver, Colorado; Mr. George E. Oster-
hout. New Windsor, Colorado ; Dr. Aven Nel-
son, State University of Wyoming, Laramie,
Wyoming. Especially am I indebted to
Professor F. Schuyler Mathews, Cambridge,
Massachusettes, for constructive criticism
and helpful suggestions.
The publications of Dr. P. A. Rydberg,
New York Botanical Garden, Dr. Frances
Ramaley, State University of Colorado,
vi
PREFACE
Boulder, Colorado, Professor E. O. Wooton,
State College, New Mexico, have been in-
valuable in the preparation of the manuscript.
Burton O. Longyear.
Fort Collins, Colo.,
October, 1926.
VU
INTRODUCTION
The Rocky Mountain region has always
held a deep and varied interest for mankind.
Here have been drawn the explorer and the
prospector in search of adventure or of
wealth. Here too have come the herder,
the lumberman, and the farmer to utilize
and develop the great resources of land and
forest. Within this area the artist and the
scientist have alike been charmed with its
grandeur and beauty, or fascinated with its
wonders of nature. Traveller and tourist
are now finding it a land of dehght where
they may enjoy its wonderful climate and
scenery amidst the comforts of modern life
or where they may retire for a time into the
solitude and freedom of a primitive existence.
The approach to this region is hardly an
inspiring one. Vast, undulating, treeless, the
Great Plains appear barren and desolate at
first. One is apt to overlook the lesser fea-
tures in contemplation of the wide expanse
of land and sky. Due to lack of rainfall
and to the drying winds which frequently
sweep over the plains region the natural
vegetation is mostly low and rather sparse
ix
INTRODUCTION
but is composed of a surprisingly large num-
ber of species. Shrubs and even trees are
not wholly lacking on the plains. Every
outcropping of rock is almost certain to
harbor some of the former and all the streams
that traverse the region are bordered with
the latter, while some succulent shrubs of
the cactus family occur almost everywhere.
Coming to the foothills, forerunners of
the mountains, one meets new conditions and
a great increase in woody vegetation. Here
in sheltered nooks, along rocky ridges, and
within gulches and canyons, occurs a wealth
of shrubs and a considerable number of tree
species. Every new level of ascent into the
mountains brings new conditions and cor-
responding changes in the vegetation. The
season of growth is shortened to correspond
with a decrease in average temperature of
about one degree F. for each 325 feet of
elevation, while precipitation of moisture in-
creases directly with the greater coolness.
Extensive forests of pine, spruce, and fir
clothe the vast slopes of the mountains them-
selves and reach almost to the level of per-
petual snow. Above timber line, which lies
between 11,000 and 12,000 feet altitude, the
vegetation again appears low and stunted,
even the tree species which brave the incle-
ment upper reaches of the timbered zone
INTRODUCTION
being reduced to dwarfish, grotesquely dis-
torted forms. This is the "Land of Tahosa,"
the land of mountain peaks. The plant life
which at lower levels assumes the upright
position here prostrates itseK before the wild
ungoverned elements of the atmosphere as
if seeking the protection of earth while reach-
ing ever upward toward the utmost limits
of these lofty heights.
A journey of thirty miles in a direct line
from the irrigated sections of the Great Plains
to the top of the Continental Divide, at an
elevation of 14,000 feet, presents about as
great a variation of climatic conditions as in
going 1,200 miles from south to north. This
fact mainly accounts for the large number
of plant species which are to be found in this
region.
To facilitate the study of our shrubs and
trees the region may be divided horizontally
into five zones, which differ according to
altitude, as follows:^
I. The Plains Zone, which joins the foot-
hills, along the eastern base of the
mountains, at an elevation between
5,000 and 6,000 feet above sea level.
II. The Foothills Zone which extends
from the plains zone to about 8,000
feet elevation.
^ From Ramaley's Trees and Shrubs of Colorado.
xi
INTRODUCTION
III. The Montane Zone which joins the
upper Hmits of the foothills zone and
reaches an elevation of about 10,000
feet.
IV. The Sub-alpine Zone which extends
from the montane zone to timber line
at an average elevation of about 11,500
feet.
V. The Alpine Zone which comprises all
areas above timber line.
Considerable variation in the limits of
these zones may be noted between the north-
ern and southern boundaries of this region.
Thus from southern Wyoming into northern
New Mexico, a total range of about 300
miles, timber line, which lies at about 11,300
feet elevation at the north in Wyoming, is
nearly 400 feet higher at the south in New
Mexico.
The uniformity of these zones is, moreover,
much interfered with by the broken and un-
even character of the mountains themselves.
Deep canyons and innumerable gulches cut
into the flanks of the mountain slopes while
open areas, which vary from small pockets
among the hills to large parks enclosed by the
higher mountains, occur at frequent intervals.
These irregularities of topography are ac-
companied by corresponding irregularities in
the factors which affect the distribution of
xii
Xlll
INTRODUCTION
plant life, such as heat, moisture, wind, and
soil. Consequently plants are frequently
found at higher or at lower elevations than
the average limits of the zones to which they
may belong. For this reason exact state-
ments regarding the limits of altitude within
which plants of the region occur can be given
only in a general way.
3av
CONTENTS
page
Preface .......
V
Introduction
ix
General Key
3
Shrubs and Trees with Naked Seeds
5
Shrubs and Trees with Covered Seeds .
7
Leaf Key to the Genera of Shrubs and Trees
13
Pine Family
25
Joint Fir Family
59
Lily Family
62
Willow Family.
67
Birch Family .
86
Beech Family .
92
The Mistletoe Family
97
The Elm Family
99
Goosefoot Family
101
Buttercup Family .
107
The Barberry Family
109
Gooseberry Family .
114
Hydrangea Family .
122
The Rose Family
126
Apple Family .
144
Plum Family
154
Pea Family
159
Bean Caper or Caltrop Family
163
Rue Family ....
. 165
X
V
CONTENTS
page
Sumach Family 168
Staff-Tree Family
172
Maple Family .
173
Soapberry Family
177
Buckthorn Family
179
Grape Family .
183
Cactus Family .
186
Oleaster Family
193
Dogwood Family
197
Heath Family .
199
Huckleberry Family
204
OuvE Family
208
Night-Shade Family
212
Honeysuckle Family
2U
Sunflower or Composite Family
224
Glossary of Terms Used
235
Index
,
. 239
XVI
COLOR PLATES
FACING
PLATE PAGE
I. — Colorado Blue Spruce . . Frontispiece
II. — White or Concolor Firs, North Chey-
enne Canyon ..... 26
III. — A Forest of Mature Lodgepgle Pine in
THE Montane Zone .... 44
IV. — Peach-Leaved Willow with Single Trunk 50
V. — A Canyon Road in the Foothills Zone in
Autumn ...... 78
VI. — A Small Mountain Park at 9000 Feet
Elevation ...... 92
VII. — Alpine Fir in the Sub-Alpine Zone . 148
VIII. — Engelmann Spruce Forest . . 206
IX. — Wind Timber at Timber Line . . . 224
xvu
Trees and Shrubs
of the
Rocky Mountain Region
GENERAL KEY
Shrubs and trees differ from herbs in hav-
ing woody stems above ground all or a part
of which remains ahve over winter.
The plants described in this work are here
grouped into three size classes, as follows:
I. Trees and tall shrubs.
n. Shrubs and undershrubs.
III. Vines and trailers.
No sharp distinction can always be drawn
between the plants of each class. Thus a
plant that may grow to the size and form
of a tree in the most favorable portion of its
range and zone may be dwarfed to the size
of a shrub in a dry, cold or exposed site, as at
high altitudes or at the far north.
Trees and shrubs differ chiefly as follows:
Trees grow with a single stem or trunk which
may branch some distance above ground and
usually reach a height above fifteen feet.
Shrubs produce a cluster of stems which all
arise from the same root system at or below
the surface of the ground and reach a height
3
TREES AND SHRUBS
about equal to that of an average person.
Shrubs are also called bushes. Tall shrubs
are intermediate between shrubs and trees,
and may be two or three times the height of
a man, while the lowest bushes are called
undershrubs and are less than the height of
the average man. Woody \anes are shrubs
with stems too slender to stand erect. They
may be divided into climbing, and trailing
vines.
While the use of technical botanical terms
has been avoided as far as possible it will be
necessary for purposes of identification to
become familiar with the principal parts of
the leaf and the flower and to some extent
with the fruit.
Botanical keys, while usually not all that
could be desired, are still the most useful
means yet devised for identifying plants. The
keys here used are based upon the choice
between two contrasted characters so that
if a specimen does not fit the first it should
belong under the second. By following the
numbers step by step in this way one is led
to the family or the genus to which the plant
belongs. Reference to the page indicated
w^ll furnish a fuller description and in most
cases a picture of the species. The straight
line to one side of each illustration represents
one inch in the scale of the drawing.
4
SHRUBS AND TREES WITH NAKED
SEEDS
Class I (Gymnosperms)
The plants of this class have small or
minute flowers which are borne singly or in
small cone-like clusters consisting of scales
and are without calyx and corolla. The
stamens and pistils are produced in separate
clusters, both kinds, in most cases, upon the
same plant. When in bloom the scales of
the pistillate cluster are spread apart and the
ovules which they bear are thus exposed so
that the pollen grains from the stamen flowers
come in direct contact with them. Soon after
blossoming the scales close tightly and cover
the ovules which later become fertilized and
ripened into seeds. In species with dry cones
the scales open or fall apart when ripe and
allow the seeds to drop out while in those
with fleshy fruit the cone-scales become
united and retain the seeds within a berry-
like structure.
Two families of shrubs and trees of this
class, all evergreens, occur in our region.
5
TREES AND SHRUBS
Key to the Families of Gymnosperms
Shrubs and trees with resinous sap and
evergreen scale-shaped, awl-shaped or needle-
shaped leaves, fruit a dry cone consisting of
scales, or berry-like.
Pine Family (Pinaceoe) p. 25
Shrubs with jointed, rushlike green
branches, and leaves represented only by
thin bracts at the nodes. Fruit consisting
of one to three naked, erect seeds surrounded
by overlapping scales.
Joint Fir Family {Gnetaceoe) p. 59
SHRUBS AND TREES WITH COVERED
SEEDS
Class II. (Angiosperms)
In this class of plants the ovules are en-
closed from the first within the ovary of the
pistil, which bears a stigma or receptive sur-
face to receive the pollen grains. Here the
pollen grains produce delicate tubes (pollen
tubes) which penetrate the ovary and bring
about the fertilization of the contained ovules.
The fruit consists of the ripened ovary and
the enclosed seeds and may be either dry,
fleshy or pulpy when mature. The dry fruits
may be nutlike or small and seedlike or they
may be in the form of a pod which splits
open at maturity to discharge the few or
numerous seeds. The fleshy fruits are in
the form of berries, drupes, or stone-fruits,
or a pome, or apple-fruit.
The plants of this class are divided into
two divisions as follows:
TREES AND SHRUBS
DIVISION I. PLANTS WITH ONE COTYLEDON
(Monocotyledons)
These are plants with one seed-leaf or
cotyledon, in the seed; wood of the stem in
fiber-like strands; leaves with mostly par-
allel veins; and flowers with parts in threes
or multiples of three.
One family only, of this division, is rep-
resented in our region.
Lily Family (Liliacece) p. 62
DIVISION II. PLANTS WITH TWO COTYLEDONS
(Dicotyledons)
The shrubs and trees in this division have
two cotyledons, or seed-leaves; stems with
wood in concentric annual layers around a
central pith; leaves with veins in the form
of a network; and flowers with parts in fours
or fives.
In some plants the stamens are numerous
while the calyx, corolla and pistils are vari-
ously modified by the union of their parts
or, in some cases, with each other.
Flower and Fruit Key to the Families of
Dicotyledons
1. Flowers imperfect, one or both kinds in
catkins. 2.
8
COVERED SEEDS
1. Flowers mostly perfect, not in catkins. 4.
2. Staminate and pistillate flowers both in
catkins. 3.
2. Staminate flowers in catkins; pistillate
solitary or few; fruit a nut (an acorn in
ours). Beech Family p. 92
3. Staminate and pistillate catkins on differ-
ent plants; seeds with cotton.
Willow Family p. 67
3. Staminate and pistillate catkins on the
same plant; fruit a nut or seedlike,
without cotton. Birch Family p. 86
4. Small leafless parasites with jointed stems
growing upon evergreen trees.
Mistletoe Family p. 97
4. Shrubs and trees with green leaves; non-
parasitic. 5.
5. Flowers minute, crowded into heads sur-
rounded by a calyx-like involucre of
scales, the whole appearing as one
flower. Sunflower Family p. 224
5. Flowers small to large, variously clustered
but not in heads with calyx-like in-
volucre. 6.
6. Fruit dry, seedlike, winged. 7.
6. Fruit dry or fleshy, not winged. 10.
7. Leaves simple. 8.
7. Leaves compound. 9.
8. Leaves alternate, often scurfy.
Goosefoot Family p. 101
9
TREES AND SHRUBS
8. Leaves opposite, never scurfy.
Maple Family p. 173
9. Leaves alternate. Rue Family p. 165
9. Leaves opposite. Olive Family p. 208
10. Fruit dry. 11.
10. Fruit more or less fleshy or juicy when
ripe. 19.
11. Fruit seedlike; usually with long feathery
style, n.
11. Fruit of one or more pods, without
feathery styles. 13.
12. Half-woody climbing vine.
Buttercup Family p. 107
12. Shrubs, not climbing.
Rose Family p. 126
13. Leaves simple. 14.
13. Leaves compound. 18.
14. Leaves alternate. 15.
14. Leaves opposite. 17.
15. Flowers with united petals.
Heath Family p. 199
15. Flowers with separate petals. 16.
16. Fruit 3-lobed, splitting into 3 nutlets.
Buckthorn Family p. 179
16. Fruit of small separate pods.
Rose Family p. 126
17. Low trailing evergreen shrub.
Staff Tree Family p. 172
17. Upright deciduous-leaved shrubs.
Hydrangea Family p. 122
10
COVERED SEEDS
18. Flowers pink or purple.
Pea Family p. 159
18. Flowers yellow.
Bean Camper Family p. 163
19. Succulent plants with leafless, green
spiny stems. Cactus Family p. 186
19. Woody-stemmed shrubs and trees. 20.
20. Fruit a pome (apple-like).
Apple Family p. 144
20. Fruit a drupe (stone fruit), or drupe-
like. 21.
20. Fruit a berry, or berry-like. 27.
21. Leaves alternate. 22.
21. Leaves opposite. 24.
22. Leaves simple. 23.
22. Leaves compound.
Sumach Family p. 168
23. Pith of twigs of minute transverse plates ;
bark of trunk rough with warty pro-
jections or ridges. Elm Family p. 99
23. Pith of twigs solid: bark of trunk smooth
or scaly or ridged.
Plum Family p. 154
24. Twigs and leaves silvery-scaly.
Oleaster Family p. 193
24. Twigs and leaves not silvery-scaly. 25.
25. Leaves palmately- veined.
Honeysuckle Family p. 204
25. Leaves pinnately- veined. 26.
11
TREES AND SHRUBS
26. Leaves large, entire-margined.
Dogwood Family \). 197
26. Leaves small, finely toothed.
Olive Family p. 208
27. Fruit thimble-shaped, of many united
parts. Rose Family p. 126
27. Fruit not thimble-shaped, simple. 28.
28. Leaves alternate. 29.
28. Leaves opposite.
Honeysuckle Family p. 214
29. Chmbing vines. Grape Family p. 183
29. Shrubs not climbing. 30.
30. Leaves prickly-margined.
Barberry Family p. 109
30. Leaves not prickly-margined. 31.
31. Leaves evergreen. Heath Family p. 199
31. Leaves not evergreen. 32.
32. Leaves compound.
Soapberry Family p. 177
32. Leaves simple. 33.
33. Calyx beneath the ovary.
Nightshade Family p. 212
33. Calyx upon the ovary. 34.
34. Leaves pinnate, not lobed.
Huckleberry Family p. 204
34. Leaves palmate, more or less lobed.
Gooseberry Family p. 114
12
LEAF KEY TO THE GENERA OF
SHRUBS AND TREES
1. Evergreens with needle-shaped, awl-
shaped or scale-shaped leaves. 2.
1. Leaves deciduous, sometimes persistent
or evergreen but not needle-shaped,
awl-shaped or scale-shaped. 7.
2. Leaves needle-shaped, ^-6 inches long.
3.
2. Leaves awl-shaped or scale-shaped, Vie-
14 inch long. 6.
3. Needles in bundles of 2-5, with sheath at
base. The Pines p. 26
3. Needles single, without sheath at base. 4
4. Needles stiff, sharp-pointed, borne on a
persistent stalklike base which roughens
the twigs after the needles fall.
The Spruces p. 38
4. Needles rather soft and blunt, without
stalk-like base, naked twigs smooth and
with leaf scars. 5.
5. Leaves narrowed at the base; buds point-
ed, brown. Douglas Fir p. 42
5. Leaves not much narrowed at base; buds
blunt, greenish. Balsam Firs p. 45
13
TREES AND SHRUBS
6. Leaves green; steins not jointed and rush-
Junipers and Cedars p. 51
6. Leaves reduced to sheathing, colorless
bracts; stems jointed and rushlike.
Joint Firs p. 59
7. Leaves bayonet-like, with veins in form
of parallel fibers.
Yucca, Spanish Bayonet p. 62
7. Leaves not bayonet-like, veins usually
forming a network. (Leaves greatly
reduced or wanting in mistletoes and
cacti.) 8.
8. Leaves reduced to minute scales or want-
ing. 9.
8. Leaves more or less well developed, green
or greenish. 10.
9. Small, freely-branched parasites with
jointed, yellowish stems growing upon
the branches of evergreen trees.
Mistletoes p. 97
9. Succulent, green-stemmed, mostly leaf-
less plants armed with spines.
Cacti p. 186
10. Leaves alternate (sometimes crowded
into clusters). 11.
10. Leaves opposite. 69.
11. Leaves simple. 12.
11. Leaves compound. 58.
12. Leaves or their divisions very narrow,
or linear; usually without a distinct
14
LEAF KEY TO THE GENERA
stalk or petiole; shrubs or undershriibs.
13.
12. Leaves with a well developed blade and
usually a distinct petiole; low shrubs
to tall trees. 22.
13. Leaves with pronounced odor when
bruised. 14.
13. Leaves with no pronounced odor when
bruised. 15.
14. Odor sagelike. Sage brush p. 230
14. Odor strong but not sage-like.
Thamnosma p. 166
15. Leaves evergreen. Phyllodoce p. 200
15. Leaves not evergreen. 16.
16. Stems more or less spiny. 17.
16. Stems not spiny. 19.
17. Leaves fleshy, often scurfy. 18.
17. Leaves reduced to stiff spines.
Tetradymia p. 228
18. Leaves flattened. Grayia p. 103
18. Leaves 3-angled. Greasewood p. 105
19. Flowers not in composite heads.
Eurotia p. 105
19. Flowers in composite heads, within an
involucre. 20.
20. Scales of the involucre 4-6.
Tetradymia p. 228
20. Scales of the involucre more than 6. 21.
21. Stems striate or finely ribbed.
Baccharis p. 227
15
TREES AND SHRUBS
21. Stems smooth. Rabbit Brush p. 226
22. Trees of medium to large size, 25 feet
or over. 23.
22. Tall shrubs or small trees under 25 feet
tall. 25.
22. Undershrubs up to 6 feet tall. 31.
22. Prostrate or creeping shrubby plants.
56.
23. Buds covered with one scale.
Willow p. 78
23. Buds with several overlapping scales.
24.
24. Leaf blades toothed or serrate, never
lobed. Aspen, Cottonwood p. 68
24. Leaf blades more or less deeply lobed.
OaJc, scrub oak p. 92
25. Branches with thorns (thomless in cher-
ries). 26.
25. Branches without thorns. 27.
26. Fruit a drupe with one stone.
Plum and Cherry p. 154
26. Fruit a pome with several bony seeds.
Hawthorns p. 148
27. Buds covered with 1 or 2 scales; scales
not over-lapping. 28
27. Buds covered with several overlapping
scales. 29.
28. Leaves mostly narrow, entire or finely
toothed; bark intensely bitter.
Willows p. 78
16
LEAF KEY TO THE GENERA
28. Leaves broad, coarsely toothed; bark not
intensely bitter. Alder p. 88
29. Bark of trunk rough. Hackberry p. 99
29. Bark of trunk smooth. 30.
30. Bark reddish-brown, marked with large
horizontal lenticels, or chalky white
and separating mto papery layers.
Birch p. 86
30. Bark light gray, without large horizontal
lenticels. Shad p. 145
31. Leaf blade usually more than Ij^ times
as long as broad. 32.
31. Leaf blade less than Ij^^ times as long
as broad. 51.
32. Leaf blade more or less deeply lobed (3-
toothed at apex in 34). 33.
32. Leaf blade entire, serrate or toothed, not
lobed. 37.
33. Leaves large; fruit an acorn.
Scrub Oak p. 92
33. Leaves not large; fruit not an acorn. 34
34. Leaves with sagelike odor when bruised.
Sage, Sagebrush p. 230
34. Leaves without sagelike odor. 35.
35. Leaves all 3-lobed at apex; fruit without
feathery tail. Antelope Brush p. 132
35 . Leaves 3-7 lobed ; fruit feathery tailed. 36.
36. Leaves with small glandular dots; fruits
usually 5 in a cluster.
Cliff Rose p. 127, 129
17
TREES AND SHRUBS
36. Leaves without glandular dots; fruits
numerous. FaUugia p. 130
37. Leaf blade with 3 prominent ribs or
veins arising from the base.
Ceanothus p. 180
37. Leaf blades without 3 prominent ribs at
the base. 38.
38. Leaf margins prickly; stems armed with
branched prickles. Barberry p. 110
38. Leaf margins and stems without prickles.
39.
39. Leaves large; fruit a nut within a leafy
husk. Hazelnut p. 86
39. Leaves moderately large to small; fruit
not a nut. 40.
40. Buds with a single scale; twigs intensely
bitter. Willows p. 78
40. Buds with several scales; twigs not in-
tensely bitter. 41.
41. Leaves and twigs mealy or scurfy;
branches often spine-tipped.
Saltbush p. 101
41. Leaves and twigs not mealy or scurfy
(sometimes silvery-scaly or rusty);
branches spineless. 42.
42. Leaves or twigs, or both, covered with
brownish or silvery scales or scalelike
hairs. 43.
42. Leaves and twigs without silvery or
rusty scales. 44.
18
LEAF KEY TO THE GENERA
43. Leaves and twigs with silvery scales;
fruit a silvery drupe.
Silver berry p. 193
43. Leaves with rusty scales and bristly
hairs; fruit a capsule.
Menziesia p. 202
44. Leaves rather coarsely toothed or ser-
rate. 45.
44. Leaves entire or finely serrate. 47.
45. Leaves persistent; fruit feathery-tailed.
Mountain Mahogany p. 127
45. Leaves deciduous; fruit not feathery-
tailed. 46.
46. Fruit berry-like.
Shad, Service berry p. 145
46. Fruit not berry-like.
False Spircea p. 132
47. Flowers minute, in composite heads sur-
rounded by an involucre.
Baccharis p. 227
47. Flowers not minute nor in composite
heads. 48.
48. Fruit a berry. 49.
48. Fruit a drupe or pome. 50.
49. Mostly low, shrubby plants of moist
woods and mountain slopes in the sub-
alpine zone. Huckleberry p. 204
49. Somewhat spiny shrub growing on dry
rocky hillsides in the foothills zone.
Matrimony Vine p. 212
19
TREES AND SHRUBS
50. Fruit a drupe Cherry p. 154
50. Fruit a pome. Peraphyllum p. 144
51. A tall-climbing vine with tendrils.
Wild Grape p. 183
51. Spreading or erect shrubs without ten-
drils. 52.
52. Leaves finely serrate; shrub of boggy
ground. Bog Birch p. 90
52. Leaves toothed or lobed; not growing in
bogs. 53.
53. Stems prickly. Gooseberry p. 114
53. Stems without prickles. 54.
54. Flowers with tubular or bell-shaped cor-
olla. Wild Currant p. 120
54. Flowers with separate petals. 55.
55. Flowers large, solitary or few in a cluster.
False Raspberry p. 132
55. Flowers not large, in dense clusters.
Ninebark p. 135
56. Leaves deciduous; creeping shrub of sub-
alpine and alpine regions.
Creeping Willoiv p. 84
56. Leaves evergreen. 57.
57. Leaves about 1 inch long; 3 times as
long as broad. Kinnikinich p. 203
57. Leaves about J^ inch long, rounded.
Wintergreen p. 203
58. Leaflets with prickly teeth; evergreen.
Barberry p. 109
20
LEAF KEY TO THE GENERA
Leaflets without prickly teeth; not ever-
green. 59.
Tall climbing vine with tendrils; leaf-
lets. 5. Woodbine p. 184
Shrubs with spreading or erect stems.
60.
Leaflets with entire margin. 61.
Leaflets with serrate, toothed or lobed
margin. 64.
Leaflets 5-7, crowded near the end of
the petiole.
Shrubby cinquefoil p. 138, 140
Leaflets numerous. 62.
Stipules in the form of stout prickles.
Locust p. 159
Stipules not prickle-like. 63.
Leaflets blunt; fruit a small pod.
False Indigo p. 160
Leaflets taper-pointed; fruit berry-like.
Soap Berry p. 177
Stems more or less prickly. 65.
Stems without prickles. 66.
Leaflets 3-5, large. Raspberry p. 140
Leaflets 5 or more, small. Rose p. 140
Leaflets 3. 67.
Leaflets 9 or more. 68.
Tall shrub or small tree; fruit dry,
winged. Hoptree Wafer Ash p. 166
Shrub low or medium tall; fruit drupe-
like. Sumach p. 168
21
TREES AND SHRUBS
68. Juice resinous or milky; leaves without
stipules. Sumach p. 168
68. Juice not milky nor resinous; leaves with
deciduous stipules.
Mountain Ash p. 152
69. Leaves simple. 70.
69. Leaves compound. 85.
70. Branches thorny or spiny. 7L
70. Branches not thorny or spiny. 72.
71. Desert shrub with showy yellow flowers.
Coleogyne p. 130
71. Stout shrub or small tree along streams;
flowers not showy.
Bufalo Berry p. 165
72. Leaves palmately ribbed. 73.
72. Leaves pinnately ribbed. 74.
73. Fruit winged, double.
Maj)le p. 173
73. Fruit a drupe Viburnum p. 214
74. Leaves evergreen. 75.
74. Leaves not evergreen. 76.
75. Low shrub; leaves very narrow, entire.
Pale Laurel p. 200
75. Spreading or trailing; leaves somewhat
broad, finely serrate.
Pachystima p. 172
76. Leaf blades with serrate or toothed mar-
gin. 77.
76. Leaf blades with entire or wavy margin.
80.
22
LEAF KEY TO THE GENERA
77. Leaves coarsely serrate; flowers showy.
Jamesia p. 122
77. Leaves finely serrate; flowers not showy.
78.
78. Fruit dry, winged. Ash p. 208
78. Fruit a drupe or berry. 79.
79. Leaf blades much narrowed toward the
base. Forestiera p. 211
79. Leaf blades somewhat rounded at the
base. Buckthorn p. 179
80. Twigs and leaves with brownish, scurfy
scales. Buffalo Berry p. 193
80. Twigs and leaves without scurfy scales.
81.
81. Stems and branches bright red or red-
dish brown. Dogwood p. 197
81. Stems and branches not bright red. 82.
82. Petals large, separate; fruit dry. 83.
82. Petals small, united, at least at the base;
fruit a berry. 84.
83. Leaves, 3-6 times as long as broad.
Fendlera p. 125
83. Leaves less than 3 times as long as broad.
Mock Orange p. 122
84. Flowers white or pink.
Buckhrush p. 216
84. Flowers yellow or yellowish.
Honeysuckle p. 218
85. Clambering or climbing vine with partly
woody stem. Clematis p. 107
23
TREES AND SHRUBS
85. Shrubs or trees with woody stems. 86.
86. Leaves evergreen; leaflets 2, small, twigs
and leaves sticky; odor strong, like
creosote. Creosote Bush p. 163
86. Leaves deciduous; leaflets large. 3 or
more, not sticky nor with creosote-
like odor. 87.
87. Pith of new shoots large; fruit a berry.
Elder p. 222
87. Pith of new shoots not very large; fruit
dry, w^inged. 88.
88. Fruit single. Ash p. 208
88. Fruit double. Maple p. 173
34
PINE FAMILY (Pinacew)
Our species of this family are all evergreen
trees or shrubs with needle-shaped, awl-
shaped, or scale-shaped leaves and resinous
sap. The inconspicuous flowers are borne in
small conelike clusters on the previous year's
growth, staminate and pistillate flowers being
in separate cones on the same tree. The
ovule
Staminate pij^-ITa+e P/sfij ^ooe
Coneler conelef Scaie scale.
Ipdqe Pole Pine lower
Cone ,
Scale,
upper
e/npty
Cone
Sccjie
Fig. 2. Flower structure of a pine, a Gymnosperm
pistillate cones consist of crowded scales,
each scale bearing two naked ovules upon its
upper surface. In most of the species the
cones become dry and woody and the seeds
fall out as the scales spread apart when ripe.
In others the pistillate cone scales become
fleshy and grown together in the form of a
more or less juicy berry containing the few
seeds.
25
TREES AND SHRUBS
Key to the Genera
a. Leaves needle-shaped; fruit a dry scaly
cone. b.
b. Needles in clusters of 2-5. Enclosed at
base with a short, scaly sheath; cone
scales thick and woody.
1 . Pinus — Pines
b. Needles single; cone scales thin. c.
c. Needles stiff, 4-angled; naked branchlets
rough with the persistent leaf bases;
cones hanging; cone scales persistent.
2. Picea — Spruces
c. Needles flattened; naked branchlets cov-
ered with rounded leaf scars, and quite
smooth, d.
d. Needles much narrowed at base, scars
small, cones hanging, feathered with
3-pronged bracts.
3. Pseudotsuga — Douglas Fir
d. Needles not much narrowed at base,
scars quite large, circular, cones erect,
the scales falling apart when ripe.
4. Abies — Fir
a. Leaves awl- or scale-shaped; fruit berry-
like. 5. Juniperus — Junipers
1. THE PINES (Pinus)
Our pines are all trees and are distinguished
from the other genera of the pine family by
WHITE OR CONCOLOR FIRS
NORTH CHEYENNE CANYON
Near Colorado Springs, Colorado
PINE FAMILY
having the needle-shaped foliage leaves in
little clusters of two to ^ve, each cluster sur-
rounded at base by a sheath of thin scales.
Fruit a cone composed of woody scales which
are thickened at the tips and armed, in some
species, by curved prickles. The cones ripen
at the end of the second autumn after flower-
ing. Our most important lumber trees occur
in this genus.
Key
a. Needles 5 in a cluster, b.
b. Cone scales tipped with slender prickles.
1. Bristle-cone Pine
b. Cone scales without prickles.
2. Limber Pine
a. Needles 2 to 3 in a cluster, c.
c. Needles 3 to 6 inches long, 2 and 3 in a
bundle on the same tree.
3. Yellow Pine
e. Needles mostly less than 3 inches long. d.
d. Needles 2 in a cluster, Ij^ to 2j^ inches
long. 4. Lodgepole Pine
d. Needles 2 or 3 in a cluster, 1 to Ij^ inches
long. 5. Piny on Pine
Bristle-cone Pine, Foxtail Pine
{Pinus aristata Engelm.)
The bristle-cone pine is a tree of the high
altitudes in the mountains of central and
27
TREES AND SHRUBS
southern Colorado, of Utah, Nevada and in
southern Arizona and CaHfornia. In Colo-
rado, it is nowhere abundant but occurs
singly, in small groups or in open groves of
rather limited extent. Its most accessible
locations in the eastern part of its range
probably are on the lower slopes of Pike's
Peak west of Colorado Springs, above ]Man-
itou and along the divide toward Florisant
in Colorado.
It is a small or medium sized tree of bushy
habit which seldom reaches a height of 50
feet. The bark of young trees is thin and
light silvery gray while on the old trunks it
is divided into scaly ridges of a dark brown-
ish gray color. The trunk is usually short,
low-branched and often forked and the rather
soft wood is apt to be twisted and knotty.
It somewhat resembles the limber pine in
manner of growth but is easily recognized
by its shorter needles, which are 1 to Ij^
inches long and which cling to the branches
for 12 to 14 years and thus give the tw^igs
the appearance of elongated brushes. The
cones are 2 or 3 inches long with bristle-
tipped scales and winged seeds. Its wood
is rarely used except occasionally for fuel
and for mine timbers. The tree can be
grown on the plains as an ornamental ever-
green and appears to succeed as far as tried.
28
Fig. 3. Bristle-cone pine {Pinus aristata). A leafy
branch; a cone and needles; seeds
29
TREES AND SHRUBS
The Limber Pine
(Pinus flexilis James)
This tree occurs almost throughout the
Rocky Mountain region and into eastern
California. It is a tree of the exposed,
wind-swept slopes and rocky ridges at high
elevations where it sometimes forms small
open groves or scraggly forests, mixed with
lodgepole pine and Douglas fir. At timber
line it sometimes forms densely matted or
distorted, prostrate growths of grotesque
shapes. In sheltered canyons the limber
pine occasionally forms a moderately tall
tree with massive trunk covered with gray,
furrowed bark an inch or two thick. A
sparse growth of this tree, in company with
Rocky Mountain yellow pine and red cedar,
occurs in Weld County near the PawTiee
buttes in Colorado and several patches of it
extend into southeastern Wyoming as far as
Nebraska.
As a rule the tree is heavily branched low
down and has a few long, flexible lateral
branches from which its name is derived.
The bark of young trees is smooth, silvery
gray in color and quite thin. The rather
slender bluish-green needles are \]/^ to 3
inches long, are borne in tufts of five, or occa-
sionally four, and are enclosed at first by a
30
PINE FAMILY
sheath of long, thin scales which soon fall off
and leave the needles naked at the base.
The cones are the largest of any of our
pines, being sometimes 6 inches long. The
scales are broad, without prickles and bear
one or two wingless seeds about J^ of an inch
Fig
Limber pine {Pinus flexilis).
needles; a cone; seeds
bundle
long. On account of the seeds this pine has
sometimes been mistaken for the piny on pine.
The wood of the limber pine is moderately
soft but is usually cross-grained and knotty.
It is seldom used for lumber but is employed
to some extent for mine timbers and ties.
The tree is adapted to planting oq the plains
as its moisture requirements are not great.
31
TREES AND SHRUBS
Rocky Mountain Yellow Pine, Rock Pine
{Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum Engelm.)
This is the Rocky Mountain form of Pinus
ponderosa, commonly known as western
yellow pine and bull pine, a tree which ex-
tends from the Rocky Mountains to the
Pacific Coast and from southern British
Columbia to western Texas and northern
Mexico. In Colorado the rock pine occurs
all along the eastern slopes of the mountains
and over much of the western portions of
the state reaching its best development as a
lumber tree in the southwest. A few trees
occur in northeastern Weld County in Colo-
rado in the vicinity of the Pawnee buttes.
Outside of our state its easternmost range is
in central Nebraska.
This is the common pine tree of the foot-
hills and warmer slopes of the mountains
up to 8,500 feet elevation and occasionally
as scattered individuals or small groups up
to 9,000 feet.
It varies from a small stunted tree a few
feet high, on dry rocky ridges, to a majestic
tree 80 to 100 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet through
in moist glades and on fertile well-watered
slopes. The bark on yoimger trees is broken
into rounded ridges covered with blackish
scales, which form of the tree is known by
32
Fig. 5. Western yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa, var.
scopulorum). Black jack and yellow pine types of trunks;
needles 2 and 3 in a bundle; a cone; seeds; section of
trunk.
TREES AND SHRUBS
lumbermen as black jack pine. In the old-
est and largest trees the bark takes on a cm-
namon red color and divides into long plates
up and down the trunk and is from 1 to 3
inches thick.
The needles are 3 to 6 inches long and are
borne in clusters of 2 and 3 on the same tree.
The cones are 2j •> to 3 inches long, with
priclde-tipped scales which open before the
cones fall from the tree.
The rock or yellow pine is one of our chief
lumber trees in Colorado and has been exten-
sively lumbered in tlie southwest where new
forests are now being reproduced naturally.
LoDGEPOLE Pine
(Pinus coniorta var. Murrayana Engelm.)
The lodgepole pine is the Rocky Mountain
form of Pinus contorta which is scattered
from the continental divide to the Pacific
slope and from the Yukon to northern New
Mexico, Arizona and California. In Colo-
rado the lodgepole pine forms dense forests
on slopes between 8,000 and 9,000 feet with
extensions of at least 500 feet above and
below these elevations.
In dense stands the trunks grow tall and
slender and were used by the Indians for
building tepees, hence its name, lodgepole
34
PINE FAMILY
pine. Its trunk diameter is commonly less
than one foot, except in old trees, and the
bark is rarely over J^ inch in thickness and
Fig. 6. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta, var, Murray-
ana), Trunk and section of same; a bundle of needles;
cones, open and closed; seeds.
is covered with small rounded scales. Due
to its light colored, rather soft wood it is
often erroneously called white pine by
lumbermen.
TREES AND SHRUBS
The needles, two in a bundle, are 2 to 3
inches long and of a more yellowish green
than those of the yellow pine. The cones,
about Ij^ to 2 inches long, have small scales
tipped with delicate prickles and are often
borne in great profusion. Many of the cones
remain closed and attached to the branches
for many years and retain their seeds alive
until released by the heat of a forest fire.
The lodgepole pine now furnishes more
timber in Colorado than any other species,
its chief uses being for railway ties, mine
timbers, poles, posts and fuel. It is also
used for saw timber whenever large enough
to make lumber and boxboards.
PiNYON Pine, Nut Pine
(Pinus edulis Engelm.)
The pinyon occurs in scattered groves and
open forests often mixed with cedars and
junipers chiefly in the foothills zone of the
mountains of southwestern Wyoming, Colo-
rado, western Texas and Arizona. In Colo-
rado its northernmost range is an isolated
grove less than a square mile in area located
about twenty-two miles north of Fort Col-
lins near the road to Laramie, Wyoming.
Here the largest trees on record are to be
36
PINE FAMILY
found. It also occurs on the dry hillsides
above Colorado Springs and about Manitou
and from there southward. In the western
part of Colorado it often covers extensive
areas and is the principal tree on the Mesa
Verde.
It is usually a low-spreading open-crowned
tree with short branchy trunk. The wood is
Fig. 7. Pinyon pine {Pinus edulis). A bundle of needles;
cones, open and closed; a seed
dense, and hard but too knotty for lumber.
The needles are usually 2 to 3 in a bundle
and about 1 inch long. The cones are nearly
globular, about the length of the needles and
the large scales are without prickles. The
seeds are wingless and are the largest of any
of our pines, being about 3^ inch long.
37
TREES AND SHRUBS
The wood of the piny on is used for fuel,
charcoal and occasionally for fence posts,
while the seeds, which were at one time
extensively used for food by the Indians, are
sold by confectioners as a delicacy.
2. THE SPRUCES (Picea)
Slender, conical-crowned trees with single,
four-sided needles. The needles are joined
to the branchlets by small, stalklike bases
which remain after the upper portion of
each needle drops, thus making the naked
branchlets very rough. (Fig. 8.)
Key
Needles very stiff and sharp pointed; sur-
face of twig among the needles naked ; cones
2 to 4 inches long. 1. Blue Spruce
Needles moderately stiff and sharp pointed;
surface of twig among the needles finely
pubescent; cones 1 to 2 inches long.
2. Engelmann Spruce
Blue Spruce, Silver Spruce, Colorado
Spruce
{Picea pungens Engelm.)
This, the state tree of Colorado where it is
most abundant, occurs also to a limited
38
PINE FAMILY
extent in southern Wyoming, in Utah and
in northern New Mexico. It commonly
occurs along streams and at the foot of moist
Fig. 8. The Colorado blue spruce {Picea pungens).
Trunk of adult tree; needles; cone
slopes, mostly between 7,000 and 9,000 feet
elevation, in groups and small groves. Until
middle age the blue spruce is one of our love-
TREES AND SHRUBS
liest evergreen trees with its more or less
regular whorls of foliage-covered branches
and its often perfect conical form. In
older age the crown usually becomes quite
ragged and the lower branches die and drop
off.
The bark on young trees is smooth and
gray becoming broken into scales on the
surface. On old trunks the bark becomes
strongly ridged, thick and hard, and dark
gray in color.
The stiff, spreading needles are about 1
inch long, very sharply pointed, and vary in
color from a bright green to a clear, silvery
bluish tone especially on the new growth of
the season.
The cones vary in length from 2 to 4 inches
and are composed of numerous thin, nar-
rowed, light colored scales. The wood is
light, soft and rather weak and is only occa-
sionally used for lumber or other purposes.
The chief use made of this tree is for orna-
mental planting for which purpose it is
hardly excelled by any other evergreen. It
is capable of enduring the heat and dry air
of the plains or the cold and moisture of the
northeastern states. It has been extensively
planted both in this country and in Eur-
ope and some especially fine varieties are
known.
40
PINE FAMILY
Engelmann Spruce
(Picea Engelmannii (Parry) Engelm.)
This tree has a general range from the
mountains of British Columbia southward
along the interior mountains of the conti-
nent into northern New Mexico and Arizona.
Fig 9. Engelmann spruce (Picea Engelmannii). Trunk
of adult tree; needles and twig enlarged; cone
In Colorado it forms some of our most exten-
sive and densest forests on the cool moun-
tain slopes above 9,000 feet elevation. Under
the best conditions for growth the Engel-
mann spruce becomes a magnificent tree
41
TREES AND SHRUBS
more than 100 feet tall and with a trunk
diameter of 3 to 5 feet. At timberline it is
sometimes dwarfed to a prostrate, spreading
growth scarcely as tall as an average person.
In general appearance this tree resembles
the blue spruce but becomes much larger.
The cones are from 1 to 2 inches long and
the scales are fairly stiff and browTiish in
color. The bark even on old trunks is rarely
over 3i inch thick and separates into thin
rounded scales of a purplish cinnamon color.
Its needles are not so stiff and sharply
pointed as those of the blue spruce but they
often possess the silvery color of those of
the latter species. The surface of the twigs
among the needles is typically pubescent or
covered with minute hairs which are entirely
absent in the blue spruce. In some of the
trees at high altitudes the pubescence of the
twigs is sometimes almost wholly lacking.
This is one of our most important lumber
trees and, while the wood is light and not
very strong, it is much used for saw timber,
mine props, poles, posts and fuel. This
spruce makes a good ornamental evergreen
for situations that are not too hot and dry.
3. DOUGLAS FIR (Pseudotsuga)
Trees resembling both the spruces and the
firs, but differing from the former, in this
42
Fig. 10. Douglas fir {Pseudotsuga taxifolia). Trunk of
adult tree; twig with needles; cone
43
TREES AND SHRUBS
region, by their flat, blunt tipped leaves, and
from the latter by their cones, which are
pendulous and feathered with projecting,
sharp-pronged bracts. (Fig. 10.)
Douglas Fir, Douglas Spruce, Red Fir
{Pseudotsuga taxifolia)
This is a common tree in the forest regions
of the northwest and southward from British
Columbia and Alberta through the mountains
to Texas and Mexico. It reaches its greatest
size in the Pacific northwest on the foothills
of the Cascades near the coast where it
reaches a height of 250 feet and a diameter
of over 12 feet. It is at present the greatest
single source of our lumber supply and is
known commercially as "fir."
The Rocky Mountain form of this tree,
which occurs in Colorado, is a tree of slow
growth and moderate size, seldom over 100
feet tall and 3 feet in diameter. It extends
from the lower foothills nearly to timberline
and often forms the principal tree growth on
north and east exposures in the upper foot-
hills zone.
It is a conical-crowned tree of more open,
ragged shape than that of the spruces and
true firs; the bark of young trees is smooth,
gray and with small resin blisters but on
44
III. A FOKE.-5T uF MaTURE LODGEPOLE PIXE IX THE
MOTVTANE ZONE
PINE FAMILY
old trees becomes deeply furrowed, 2 to 3
inches thick and light grayish tan colored.
The needles are % to l}^ inches long and
are similar to those of the true firs but are
usually somewhat smaller and narrowed at
the base. The small needle scars are some-
what raised and oval in shape. The cones
are 2 to 3 inches long, with broad, thin scales
and projecting, 3-pronged bracts, which
character offers one of the best means of
identifying this tree.
The wood is variable from coarse grained,
hard and strong to fine grained and moder-
ately soft. It is very durable and is one of
our most valuable sources of timber for ties,
mine timbers, posts and poles. This tree is
the one chiefly cut for Christmas trees and
is commonly called spruce and red spruce.
Although not as beautiful as the true spruces,
it is very hardy and is suited to ornamental
planting where an evergreen tree is desired.
4. THE BALSAM FIRS (Abies)
Conical crowned trees of the higher alti-
tudes. The needles are flattened, blunt or
slightly notched at the tip, on lower branches,
upward-curved and acute at the tip on cone-
bearing branchlets. The cones grow erect
on the topmost branches and the scales fall
45
TREES AND SHRUBS
apart when mature, leaving the spikelike
axis on the tree. The bark has numerous
balsam blisters filled with liquid pitch which
oozes out when they are punctured.
Key
Leaves of vigorous lower branches 1 to Ij^
inches long; resin tubes, seen in cross sec-
tion with lens, midway between the two
surfaces; cones purple or nearly black.
1. Alpine Fir
Leaves of vigorous lower branches 13^2 to 23^
inches long; resin tubes close to lower sur-
face; cones green, yellowish or purplish.
2. White Fir
Alpine Fir, Balsam
(Abies lasiocarpa Nutt.)
This tree frequents the mountainous parts
of western North America, from Alaska to
New Mexico and Arizona. In Colorado it
is a common associate of the Engelmann
spruce and with that species occurs between
the elevations of 8,500 feet and timberline.
It is common along streams and in wet
ground where its tall spire-like crowTis vie
in beauty with those of the blue spruces.
46
PINE FAMILY
Its crown is more slenderly tapered and its
foliage denser than that of the spruces.
Fig. 11. Alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) . Trunk of adult
tree; a needle; a cone; cone scale and seed; axis of cone
from which the scales have fallen
While it often reaches a height of 80 to
100 feet its trunk diameter seldom exceeds
2 feet. The bark on all but the oldest trees
47
TREES AND SHRUBS
remains smooth and thin with numerous resin
blisters just under the outer layer and many
small transverse scars. On the oldest trunks
the bark at the base often cracks into hard
flat ridges J^ to % inch thick and of a dark
gray color.
The needles are about 1 inch long, flat-
tened and soft. A cross section under a
hand lens shows two tiny resin tubes or
ducts located about midway between the
upper and lower sides in which character
they differ from the needles of the Concolor
fir.
The cones are borne on the topmost
branches of the crown, are about 3 inches
in length, of a purplish black color and
mature in one season.
The wood is light in weight and color,
spongy, weak, has a disagreeable odor and
is disliked by the lumberman. It is cut into
a coarse grade of lumber, which is employed
where strength and durability are not im-
portant qualities. The tree has high or-
namental value for situations where it is
suited to the conditions, as in cool, moist
locations.
CoRK-BAEK Fir
The Cork-bark Fir (Abies arizonica) is
considered by some botanists to be a variety
48
PINE FAMILY
of the alpine fir. It differs from that species
chiefly in its somewhat smaller size and in
having the outer bark developed into soft
corky ridges or projections. It occurs in
the mountains of Southern Colorado, in New
Mexico and Arizona.
White Fm, Concolor Fir
(Abies concolor Lindl.)
The White Fir extends from southern
Colorado and New Mexico westward into
Fig. 12. White fir (Abies concolor). Trunk of adult tree;
twig with needles; cone; cone scale and seed
49
TREES AND SHRUBS
California and northward into Oregon. Its
occurrence in Colorado is limited to the
southern half of the state, its most acces-
sible location on the eastern side of the
mountains being in North Cheyenne Canyon
above Colorado Springs and Manitou.
It is a common tree on the lower mountain
slopes about Ouray and southward at eleva-
tions of 9,000 feet and below. Considerable
forests of it are to be found in the San Juan
region of southwestern Colorado where it is
lumbered to some extent.
It is a much larger tree when full grown
than the alpine fir although in our region
it does not reach its full size.
The form of the tree is conical and the
bark, which is at first smooth, soon be-
comes strongly ridged and thickened on old
trunks.
The bluish green needles, which are Ij^
to ^Yz inches long, are longer and heavier
than those of the alpine fir and show the
two resin tubes in cross section located close
to the lower surface.
The cones are nearly twice as large as those
of the alpine fir and are usually pale green or
purplish green at maturity.
The wood of the white fir is similar to that
of the alpine fir but is odorless and makes
somewhat better lumber. Its principal use
50
IV. PEACH-LEAVED WILLOW WITH SINGLE TRUNK
Growing in the plains zone
PINE FAMILY
is for coarse lumber, mine timbers and pulp
wood. The tree is highly ornamental and
is well adapted to the warmer locations of
its range.
5. JUNIPERS, RED CEDARS (Juniperus)
Aromatic shrubs and trees, with awl-shaped
or scale-shaped needles H to 3^ inch long;
staminate and pistillate flowers on separate
trees; fruit a dry or juicy resinous berry
with one to several bony-shelled wingless
seeds. The heart wood is brown or red and
possesses an aromatic odor.
Key
a. Low, spreading shrubs, b.
b. Needles awl-shaped, spreading, in whorls
of 3. 1. Low Juniper
b. Needles scalelike, minute, not spreading.
2. Creeping Juniper
2. Trees 6 to 40 feet tall; leaves on mature
branchlets scalelike, minute, c.
c. Berry l^ to J^ inch long, dry, reddish
brown covered with bluish bloom; heart
wood brown. 3. Utah Juniper
c. Berry usually less than 34 i^ch long, blue
black with bloom, somewhat juicy;
heart wood red or reddish brown, d.
51
TREES AND SHRUBS
d. Berry mostly one-seeded, juicy and sweet;
seed thin-shelled.
4. One-seed Juniper
d. Berry usually 2 to 3-seeded; seed thick-
shelled. 5. Rocky Moujitain Red Cedar
1. Low Juniper, Mountain Juniper
{Juniperus communisy var. montana, var.
sihirica of some authors)
The common juniper, of which this is a
variety, extends across the northern half of
the continent from Labrador to Alaska. The
low juniper is confined largely to rocky hills
and mountain sides where it grows either in
the open or among trees of yellow and lodge-
pole pine.
It extends in our state from the lower
range of foothills to 10,000 feet elevation
and forms low spreading shrubby masses or
clumps 2 to 3 feet tall. The needles are
about % of an inch long, spreading and borne
in whorls of 3.
The berries are without stems, bluish in
color and contain 1 to 3 seeds.
This little evergreen shrub is desirable for
planting in rockeries and along walls where
a low evergreen is desired. It is hardy when
established but prefers a cool moist situation.
52
Fig. 13. Low juniper (Juniperus communis, var. vio7i-
tana). Twig with needles and berries; a needle en-
larged
53
TREES AND SHRUBS
2. Creeping Juniper, Trailing Savin
{Juniperus prostrata (Pers.) Antoine)
The creeping juniper takes its name from
its habit of spreadmg along the ground and
taking root from the prostrate stems. It
occurs mostly in the northern portion of the
continent north of Colorado but is recorded
by Rydberg near Colorado Springs, Parlin
in Gunnison County, and from Owl Canyon
in Larimer County. The author has found
specimens north of the latter location, which
have been referred to this species. The
foliage and berries resemble those of the red
cedar but the stems are wholly prostrate
and rooting. It resembles the tree junipers
in its scalelike leaves.
3. Utah or Desert Juniper
{Juniperus Utahensis (Engelm.) Ryd.)
The Utah juniper is a bushy low-branched
or commonly forked, spreading tree with
stocky trunk usually less than twenty feet
tall. Its range is from western Colorado
and northern New Mexico through Utah and
Arizona into southeastern California.
It associates commonly with the pinyon
pine and occupies much the same areas in
54
PINE FAMILY
the southwestern parts of our region. It
differs from the red cedar chiefly in its much
coarser twigs, its yellowish green foliage with
the scalelike needles often in 6 ranks, and its
much larger berries with usually one large
seed. The bark is stringy or shreddy and
the heartwood is yellowish brown and mildly
scented. It is largely used for posts and
fuel where abundant.
4. The One-seed Juniper
{Juniperus monosperma (Engelm.) Ryd.)
This tree occurs in southern Colorado, in
Texas and west to Arizona and Nevada. It
Fig. 14. (a) One-seedjumper (Juniperus monosperma).
Twig; berry; seed. (6) Utah juniper {Jiiniperus utahen-
sis). Twig; berry; seed
resembles in size and habit of growth the
Utah juniper with which it sometimes as-
sociates, but has more slender branchlets,
and smaller, mostly one-seeded, bluish or
55
TREES AND SHRUBS
blackish berries with sweet, resinous taste.
The heart wood is brownish and is used the
same as that of the other species.
5. Rocky Mountain Red Ced.^r
{Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.)
This is the true red cedar of the Rocky
Mountains with a range from Alberta, Brit-
ish Columbia, to Texas and Arizona. It
is common in Colorado all through the foot-
hills zone especially on the Eastern side of
the range where it occupies the driest, rockiest
ridges in a stunted shrublike form, or the
sides of moist canyons where it becomes a
tree sometimes 60 to 70 feet tall and a foot
or two in diameter. In young vigorous trees
in moist situations the crown is broadly
conical, but in old trees in dry situations it
forms a spreading often irregular open crown.
The trunk is often forked and low-branched
and is covered, in age, by a rather thick
browTiish gray bark divided into narrow^ flat
ridges.
The needles are in the form of minute
scales arranged in pairs in four ranks and
entirely cover the very slender branchlets.
The foliage varies from grayish or silvery
green to dark green in color.
The berries are borne only on pistillate-
56
Fig. 15. Rocky mountain red cedar (Juniperus scop-
ul&rum). An old tree; twig with berries and scalelike
leaves
TREES AND SHRUBS
flowered trees, are about ^4 inch in diameter,
blue black when ripe and covered with a
white bloom. They are often borne in im-
mense numbers on small stunted trees. The
bony seeds are usually 2 or more in number.
The wood of the red cedar is fine grained
with a narrow band of white sapwood and
a reddish heartwood with faint purplish and
whitish streaks. It possesses the same odor
as the eastern red cedar w^ood so much used
for pencils and cedar chests. The red cedar
is largely used for fence posts wherever it is
obtainable, as it is probably our most dur-
able native wood. It has been also made
into chests to a limited extent and is especially
beautiful. The tree is very hardy and well
suited for ornamental planting.
58
JOINT FIR FAMILY {Gnetacew)
This small family consists of shrubs or
small trees with jointed stems, opposite or
clustered branches and scalelike leaves in
pairs or threes. The flowers are of two
kinds, staminate and pistillate on separate
plants. The pistillate flower consists of a
single erect naked ovule, and ripens into a
naked seed surrounded by numerous thin
scales.
JOINT FIR {Ephedra)
Key
a. Branches and leaf -scales opposite.
1. E. antisyphylitica
a. Branches and leaf -sea] es in threes, b.
b. Leaf -scales not over 3^ inch long, not
shreddy. 2. E. Torreyana
h. Leaf -scales 3^ inch or more long, becom-
ing shreddy. 3. E. trifurca
1. Mormon Tea {Ephedra antisyphylitica).
Stems slender, loosely spreading, the older
portions covered with thin gray, fibrous bark,
59
TREES AND SHRUBS
the branches green and resembh'ng those of
the scouring rush. It occurs on dry rocky
hillsides from southern Colorado to Texas
Fig. 16. Joint firs, (a) Ephedra aniisyphlUica. Jointed
stem with staminate flowers; a seed. (6) Ephedra Torrey-
ana. Jointed stem; staminate and pistillate flowers; a
seed, (c) Ephedra trifurca. Portion of stem with stam-
inate flowers; a seed
and Mexico. It is sometimes employed as a
domestic remedy.
2. Torrey Joint Fir {Ephedra Torreyana).
60
JOINT FIR FAMILY
An erect growing species 1 to 3 feet tall with
the green branches mostly in threes and in
erect broom-like clusters; fruit rough. In
dry places from southern Colorado to Cali-
fornia.
2. Three-forked Joint Fir {Ephedra tri-
furca). Erect, freely branched growing to a
height of 5 feet. The stiff, green branches
are sharply pointed at the tip and the fruit
is smooth. Range from southwestern Col-
orado to Utah, Arizona and Texas.
61
LILY FAMILY (LiliacecB)
Mostly herbs with parallel- veined leaves
and showy flowers with the parts in whorls
of 3 (or twice 3). One genus, Yucca, has
been included among the shrubs because of
its evergreen leaves and the woody base of
its short stem.
YUCCA, SPANISH BAYONET
( Yucca)
Ours are low plants with tufted, evergreen,
bayonet shaped stiff leaves with sharp points
growing from a short woody caudex or stem
which is often branched, somewhat, just at
the ground surface in old plants. Flowers
large and showy, greenish white, borne on
stout, erect flower stalks, followed by large
seed pods. The flowers of the yuccas are
pollenized by a delicate little insect, the
pronuba moth. '
Key to the Colorado Yuccas
1. Seed pods erect, dry and splitting when
ripe. 2.
* Rocky Mountain Wild Flower Studies, Longyear.
LILY FAMILY
2. Leaves narrow, 1 to 2 feet long.
F. glauca
2. Leaves rather broad, usually 6 to 8 inches
long. F. Harrimanice
Fig. 17. Narrow-leaved yucca {Yucca glauca)
1. Seed pods drooping, fleshy when ripe.
F. baccata
63
TREES AND SHRUBS
The common yucca of the plains is Y,
glauca which is known as Spanish bayonet.
b anther'
Fig. 18. (a) Flower of yucca, (b) Section of flower
with pronuba moth, (c) Pronuba moth on stigma
soap weed and bear grass. It is common on
the plains of eastern Colorado and through
the lower foothills. It has been gathered in
64
Fig. 19. Seed pods of Yucca glauca
65
TREES AND SHRUBS
some sections for use in making a soap of
fine quality. All parts of the plant produce
a suds or lather when bruised in water due
to the presence of saponin. The Indians
have long used the different species of yucca
for cleansing their hair and blankets.
Fo Harrimaniw and Y. baccata are both
plants of southwestern Colorado and beyond
into New INIexico, Utah and Arizona. The
latter species bears fleshy pods 4-5 inches
long which are edible when ripe and have
sometimes been called Indian banana.
WILLOW FAMILY (Salicacece)
Shrubs and trees inhabiting moist or wet
soil and having tiny flowers of two kinds
(staminate and pistillate), crowded into elon-
gated clusters (catkins). The staminate and
the pistillate catkins are borne on different
individuals of the same species. In all of
the cottonwoods and in some of the willows
the flowers appear before the leaves. The
tiny seeds are borne in small pods that
ripen in early summer and are distributed
by the wind due to the cottony hairs at-
tached to them.
Cuttings or portions of live twigs take
root readily when planted in moist soil and
if the cuttings are made from a staminate-
flowered plant they will never bear cotton.
In this way the so-called cottonless cotton-
wood is propagated.
Key
Trees; winter buds more or less resinous,
their scales several, overlapping.
Populiis — Cottonwoods, Poplars, Aspens
67
TREES AND SHRUBS
Trees or shrubs; winter buds dry, covered
with one scale.
Salix — Willows
COTTONWOODS, ASPENS, POPLARS
(Populus)
The members of this genus are all trees,
some of them being the largest of our broad -
leaf species. They are the first trees to be
met with in crossing the Great Plains toward
the Rockies as they follow the streams for
many miles to the eastward. They fur-
nished the first shade trees planted by the
pioneer settlers about their ranch homes and
along the streets of the frontier towns where
many of them are still standing.
Key
a. Bark of trunk becoming strongly ridged.
b.
b. Leaf blades as broad as long, or broader.
c.
c. Teeth of the leaves more than 10 on a
side. 1. Broad-leaf Cottonwood
c. Teeth of the leaves fewer than 10 on a
side. 2. Wislizeni's Cottonwood
b. Leaf blades longer than broad, d.
68
WILLOW FAMILY
d. Petioles less than half as long as the
blades. 3. Narrow-leaf Cottonwood
Fig. 20. Catkins of a cottonwood. (a) Staminate.
(6) Pistillate, (c) Seed pods containing cotton-covered
seeds
d. Petioles more than half as long as the
blades, e.
69
TREES AND SHRUBS
e. Leaves pale green beneath; winter buds
large. 4. Balsam Poplar
e. Leaves green on both sides.
5. Lance-leaf Cottonwood
a. Bark of trunk remaining smooth and
chalky white. 6. Aspen
1. Western Broad-leaf Cottonwood (Popu-
lus Sargeniii Dode). Along streams in the
plains zone. A large rough-barked, coarse
spreading tree with large greenish winter
buds well coated with pale amber colored
pitch or varnish-like resin. Quite extensively
planted in the early days for windbreaks and
shade in the irrigated sections of the Great
Plains. It is closely related to the eastern
Cottonwood or Carolina poplar so extensively
planted as a street tree all through the west-
ern plains.
2. Wislizeni's Cottonwood (Populus Wis-
lizenii Sarg.). A rather common cotton-
wood in southwestern Colorado and beyond
where it occurs along streams in the plains
zone. It much resembles the western broad -
leaf in size and habit of growth but difPers
in its very coarsely toothed leaves, which are
sometimes almost entire margined, and in
its long-stalked seed pods. It is planted as
a street tree within its range.
3. Narrow-leaf Cottonwood {Popidus an-
70
OvuJti
Fig. 21. Cottonwood flowers enlarged to show their
structure, (a) Staminate flower, (b) Pistillate flower
Fig. 22. Western broad-leaf cottonwood {Populus
Sargentii)
71
TREES AND SHRUBS
gustifolia James). A common tree along
streams and in canyons from the upper
plains to the sub-alpine zone. It is not usu-
FiG. 23. Wislizeni's Cottonwood {Populus Wislizeni)
ally as large a tree as the broad -leaf and the
lance-leaf cottonwoods. It is more slender,
with erect upper branches and with smooth
whitish bark on the upper part of the trunk
72
WILLOW FAMILY
and on the larger limbs. Its leaves resemble
those of some of the willows and have short
petioles and finely toothed margins. The
winter buds are small, narrow and are coated
Fig. 24, Narrow-leaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia)
with a dark red resin having a pronounced
aromatic odor.
This is the common cottonwood of the
high altitudes where it is often almost the
73
TREES AND SHRUBS
only broad-leaf tree planted as a shade and
street tree.
4. Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera
L.). This is a much less common tree in
Colorado than the preceding species but oc-
FiG. 25. Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera)
curs occasionally along streams and in can-
yons in the mountains at elevations between
7,000 and 8,000 feet. It is a medium sized
tree with smooth gray bark on the upper part
74
WILLOW FAMILY
of the trunk and the rather erect limbs. The
ovate leaves are dark green above, lighter and
somewhat pubescent underneath and the buds
Fig. 26. Lance-leaf cottonwood (Populus acuminata)
are large and heavily coated with fragrant
resin.
The balsam poplar is occasionally planted
as a shade tree in this state but is coarse and
apt to be short lived.
5. Lance-leaf Cottonwood (Populus acu-
75
TREES AND SHRUBS
minata Rydb.). Along streams in the upper
part of the phiins zone of eastern Colorado
and in a few localities on the western slope.
It is less common than the broad-leaf Cot-
tonwood from which it differs in its smoother,
lighter colored bark and smaller more pointed
leaves. While it equals in size the former
species it is a more erect tree with slenderer
twigs and light brown winter buds. Like
the former species it has been planted as a
street tree within its range and is still the
chief native coltonwood on the streets of
Fort Collins, Colorado, and may be found in
limited numbers in Colorado Springs and
Montrose.
Populus Aiidrewsii Sarg., believed to be a
natural hybrid between P. Sargentii and P.
acuminata, has been found near Boulder,
Walsenburg, and as a street tree in Montrose,
Colorado. It is intermediate in character
between the two species.
6. Aspen, Quaking Asp (Populus tremu-
loides Michx.). A common tree on moist
slopes and in valleys all through the moun-
tains between 6,000 and 10,000 feet elevation.
The aspen differs from the other members of
the genus in our region by its chalky white
or greenish white bark which remains smooth
even on the oldest trees, except for dark
colored, warty excrescences across the trunk
76
WILLOW FAMILY
especially at the base. It is a rather small
or medium sized tree which often forms dense
clumps or groves of many individuals of
even size and clean trunks. Its leaves are
Fig. 27. Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
always in motion where the air is stirring due
to the slender flattened petioles.
It sprouts freely from the roots and is
usually the first tree to appear after a forest
fire. The sapwood is white, heartwood
77
TREES AND SHRUBS
brownish, light in weight and excellent for
paper pulp, excelsior and for the sticks of
safety matches. It is also used locally for
poles, posts, mine timbers and for fuel and
charcoal. It is but little planted for a shade
tree except in mountain towns.
THE WILLOWS (Salix)
More than thirty species of willows are
recognized by botanists as occurring in this
region. Of this number only two merit the
name of tree, the others ranging in size from
low creeping plants, only a few inches high,
to tall shrubs that are almost trees. They
grow mostly in wet ground and occur from
the eastern plains to above timber line. The
leaves of willows are usually narrow although
a few species have broad rounded leaves.
The bark on the twigs is very bitter when
chewed due to the presence of an active
principle, salicin. On account of the dif-
ficulty of separating the different species,
which even the expert botanists are not
agreed upon, only a few of the commoner
and more easily recognized species are here
described.
Key
a. Trees 15-40 feet tall, with rough bark,
b.
78
V. A CANYON ROAD IN THE FOOTHILLS ZONE
IN AUTUMN
Douglas fir in the foreground and on the slope. Aspens near
the road and birches and willows along the stream
WILLOW FAMILY
b. Leaves yellowish green; twigs yellowish.
1. S. amygdaloides
b. Leaves dark green; twigs gray or brown-
ish, la. S. Wrightii
a. Tall shrubs, sometimes treelike; bark
smooth, c.
c. Leaves not very narrow, d.
d. Seed pods long-stalked.
2. S, rostrata
d. Seed pods short stalked.
3. S. Nuttallu
c. Leaves mostly very narrow, e.
e. Stems numerous, crowded ; fruiting cat-
kins not very showy, f .
f. Twigs gray or yellowish, without bloom.
4. S. exigua
f . 1 wigs purplish or brownish, covered with
a bluish bloom. 5. S, irrorata
e. Stems few; fruiting catkins showy.
6. S. Fendleriana
a. Low shrubs or creeping plants, g.
g. Leaves not rounded; stems erect.
7. S. glaucops
g. Leaves rounded; stems creeping.
8. S. saximontana
1. Almond or Peach-leaf Willow {Salix
amygdaloides). This is the common tree
willow of the plains near the mountains and
in canyons up to 7,000 feet elevation. In
79
TREES AND SHRUBS
our region it is a small or medium sized tree
rarely 40 feet tall and one foot through and
often grows in clumps of several spreading
individuals.
The leaves are yellowish green above and
whitish or pale underneath and resemble in
Fig. 28. (a) Peach-leaf willow (Salix amygdaloides).
(b) Wright's willow. Western Black Willow (Salix
Wrightii)
shape those of the common peach. It is
a slow-growing tree and suited for ornamental
planting in moist ground or under irrigation.
A variety of the peach-leaf willow (S. Wrightii
Anders), w^th longer and narrower leaves,
80
WILLOW FAMILY
deep green on both sides, occurs in the east-
ern part of the region under the name West-
ern Black Willow.
2. Beaked Willow (Salix rostrata). A tall
shrub or sometimes a small tree common
Fig. 29. (a) Beaked Willow (Salix rostrata)
tail's willow (Salix Nuttallii)
along streams from the lower foothills up to
the sub-alpine zone where it is often found
on moist slopes in open woodlands growing
in clumps of a few stems. The capsules or
pods of the seed-bearing catkins are borne
on long stalks and each pod is prolonged at
the tip. {Salix Behhiana of some authors.)
81
TREES AND SHRUBS
3. NuttalFs Willow (Salix Nidtallii). A
tall shrub rather common along streams in
the foothills and montane zones. The leaves
and slender twigs are sometimes pubescent.
4. Narrow-leaf AYillow {Salix exigua). A
shrub of variable habit from a rather low
slender sprouting plant forming patches of
considerable extent, to tall erect clumps. It
is one of our most common willows along
streams, irrigation ditches and on wet ground
from the plains to the sub-alpine zone. The
catkins appear with the leaves. The slender
twigs are smooth and brown or reddish in
color and the stems or trunks are gray.
The young twigs and the long slender leaves
are often covered with fine silky hairs.
{Salix stenophylla Rydb. and Salix luteo-
sericea Rydb. are included under this species.)
5. Glaucous-stemmed ^Yillow {Salix ir-
rorata). A shrub of medium height and
spreading habit common along streams in
the foothills and lower mountains. It is
easily recognized by its purplish or yellowish
twigs which are coated with a bluish or
whitish bloom easily rubbed off from the
smooth twigs.
The catkins appear before the leaves and
it is one of the common "pussy willows"
of our region. A good ornamental shrub.
Gyer's Willow {Salix Gyeriana) resembles
82
WILLOW FAMILY
the foregoing species in having its twigs
covered with a bluish bloom but its leaves
are smaller and silky and the twigs are nearly
black when the bloom is rubbed off.
6. Fendler's Willow (Salix Fendleriana).
This is a large shrub, occasionally almost a
tree, with stout, shining, reddish or yellow-
Fig. 30. (a) Xarrow-leaf willow (Salix exigua). (b)
Glaucous-stemmed willow {Salix irrorata)
ish-red twigs and dark green leaves. This is
one of our most showy willows when the
tan-colored seed pods are bursting and dis-
charging their white masses of cotton in
early summer. It is rather common along
83
TREES AND SHRUBS
the streams which flow through the canyons
of the foothills and mountains and reaches
an elevation of 10,000 feet.
7. Sub-alpine Willow (Salix glaucops). A
low but erect shrub usually 2-3 feet tall,
common in boggy places in the higher eleva-
tions and extending above timber line. The
general tone is grayish due to th(» finely
hairy young twigs, the leaves and the flower-
ing catkins. The older stems are at first
chestnut brown and shiny but become gray
with thin papery scales. The rather small
leaves are entire-margined and show a net-
work of veins underneath.
8. Rocky Mountain Creeping Willow {Sa-
lix saximontana) . This little creeping shrub,
only a few inches high, would hardly be
taken for a willow at first sight. It forms
dense matted growths on exposed wet soil
usually above timber line.
Its leaves, unlike those of most willows,
are nearly as broad as long and are rounded
in outline. The catkins are small and the
seed pods or capsules are short and covered
with fine short hairs.
Another small willow of similar size and
habit of growi:h {Salix petrophila) occurs
among rocks above timber line. It differs
from the former species in its elongated leaves,
yellowish twigs and blackish catkin-scales.
84
Fig. 31. (a) FendJer's willow {Salix Fendleri). (6)
Rocky mountain creeping willow (Salix saximontana)
Fig. 32. Sub-alpine willow (Salix glaucops)
85
BIRCH FAMILY (Befulacece)
Shrubs or trees with simple, alternate
leaves toothed on the margins; flowers borne
in separate catkins or clusters on the same
plant; fruit minute, seedlike winged nutlets
or a thick shelled nut.
Kq/
1. Shrubs; fruit a nut enclosed in a leafy
husk. Hazelnut — Corylus
1. Shrubs or small trees; fruit borne in small
conelike catkins. 2.
2. Fruit conelike, scales persistent.
Alder — Alnus
2. Fruit a catkin, scales deciduous.
Birches — Betula
Beaked Hazelnut {Corylus rostrata). This
interesting shrub of medium height is a near
relative of the eastern hazel and the European
filbert. It occurs rather commonly along
streams in canyons in the foothills zone in
86
Fig. 33. Beaked hazel (Corylus rostraia)
aider
Fig. 34. Mountain alder (Alnus tenuifolia)
87
TREES AND SHRUBS
northeastern Colorado and northward. The
nuts are edible and the shrub, although slow-
growing, is hardy and attractive as an orna-
mental.
Mountain Alder {Alnus tenuifolid). The
alder is one of our most common larger
shrubs, or sometimes a small tree, along the
cold mountain streams from the foothills to
elevations of 10,000 feet. The smooth, dull,
brownish gray bark is marked with numerous
small warty swellings or lenticels. The
leaves are rather large, with prominent veins
and doubly toothed margins. The little
conelike catkins stay on the branches over
winter and aid greatly in recognizing the
plant.
The alder may be used as an ornamental
tall shrub in moist ground in the mountains,
or on the plains with irrigation.
Rocky Mountain Birch {Beiula fontinalis) .
A tall slender-stemmed shrub, or sometimes
a small tree, along mountain streams to
altitudes of 9,000 feet. It is a common as-
sociate of the alder from which it differs in
its more slender stems and twigs covered
with glossy reddish brown bark marked with
small lenticels of a lighter color. The leaves
are smaller than those of the alder and the
catkins lose their scales as winter ad-
vances.
88
Fig. 35. Rocky mountain birch (Betula fontinalis)
89
TREES AND SHRUBS
This birch is very well suited for planting
wherever a tall shrub is desired especially
in moist places in the mountains.
Mountain Bog Birch, Dwarf Birch {Beiula
glandulosa) . A bushy shrub, usually under
6 feet in height, growing in boggy ground and
along streams in the mountains between
9,000 and 11,000 feet elevation. The dark
colored twigs are thickly covered with small
whitish glands, whence the botanical name
glandulosa, and the small leaves are rounded
in outline and finely toothed.
Andrews' Birch {Betula Andrewsii A.
Nels.). This birch is closely related to the
paper birch of the northeastern states and
Canada but grows in clumps of several small
trunks. The bark is whitish in color and
peels off in thin layers. It has been found
in only one locality, on Green Mountain
near Boulder, Colorado.
The Paper or Canoe Birch {Betula papy-
rifera) occurs in the Black Hills region of
northeastern ^Yyoming and in the Dakotas,
thence northward across the continent from
east to w^est. It is usually a tree of medium
size with smooth creamy white bark which
peels off in thin papery sheets. The bark
has long been used by the Indians in the
construction of their canoes and domestic
utensils.
BIRCH FAMILY
The tree is desirable for ornamental plant-
ing although the similar European White
Fig. 36. Mountain bog birch (Betula glandulosa)
Birch {B. alba) is more commonly planted^
especially the weeping, cut-leaf form.
91
BEECH FAMILY (Fagacece)
This large and important family is repre-
sented in our state by only one genus :
THE OAKS
(Quercus)
The oaks of this region are chiefly large
shrubs and grow to the stature of trees in
only a few cases. Members of this genus
are most easily known by their fruit which
is commonly called an acorn, a thin-shelled
nut borne in a woody cup covered w^ith small
scales.
The leaves are arranged alternately on the
twigs and are usuall}' more or less deeply
lobed. The stamen-flowers are borne in
slender catkins and the pistillate ones are
single or in clusters of two or three on the
same branch. Six species, conservatively
treated, occur in the region. In Colorado,
on the eastern side of the mountains, they
occur as far north as the foothills west of
Denver w^hile on the western slope they
92
BEECH FAMILY
reach the lower slopes above Steamboat
Springs.
Key
a. Becoming small or medium-sized trees.
b.
b. Leaves velvety on lower surface.
1. Utah Oak
b. Leaves naked on lower surface.
2. Colorado Oak
a. Small to large shrubs; scrub oaks. c.
c. Leaves persistent, toothed or nearly en-
tire. 3. Evergreen Scrub Oak
c. Leaves deciduous, lobed. d.
d. Acorn cup covering less than 34 ^^ t^^
nut. 4. Vreeland's Scrub Oak
d. Acorn cup covering more than }^ of the
nut. e.
e. Nut with blunt tip.
5. Gunnison Scrub Oak
e. Nut with pointed tip.
6. GambelVs Scrub Oak
1. \]t^}iOdik{QuercusUtahensis). A large
shrub or small tree in the foothills and lower
montane zone from southern Wyoming
through Utah and western Colorado, reach-
ing the eastern slope near Palmer Lake,
thence southward into New Mexico.
93
TREES AND SHRUBvS
2. Colorado Oak {Quercus lepiophylla). A
tree of small to medium size in the foothills
zone from northwestern Colorado into New
Mexico, reaching the eastern slope, in Col-
orado, near Colorado Springs. A mmiber of
Fig. 37. (a) Gambell's scrub oak (Quercus Gambellii).
(b) Utah oak (Quercvs utahensis)
good sized trees of this species occur near the
Spruce Tree cliff dwelling in the Mesa Verde
National Park in southwestern Colorado.
3. Evergreen Scrub Oak {Quercus un-
dulata). A shrub of small to large size form-
ing clumps and thickets on dry hillsides from
Utah into western Colorado, southward into
94
BEECH FAMILY
New Mexico. Leaves firm, shining, toothed
or nearly entire, persistent or tardily de-
dicuous.
4. Vreeland's Scrub Oak (Quercus Vree-
landii). A low thicket-forming shrub
Fig. 38. (a) Evergreen Scrub Oak (Quercus undulata),
(6) Colorado oak {Quercus leptophylla)
through the southern half of Colorado in
the foothills and montane zone. Cup of the
acorn shallow, covering one-fifth to one-sixth
of the length of the acorn.
5. Gunnison Scrub Oak {Quercus Gunni-
sonii). A small to large shrub growing in
95
TREES AND SHRUBS
clumps and thickets over much the same
range as the preceding species. Leaves
lobed half way to the midrib; acorn cup
covering about one-third the length of the
;{^ScrL:b OaK
Fig. 39. Gunnison scrub oak (Qnercus Gunnisonii)
nut. This is probably our commonest scrub
oak in Colorado.
6. Gambell's Scrub Oak {Quercus Gam-
hcllii). A medium to large shrub or, rarely,
a small tree, extending from Utah into Col-
orado and New Mexico. Leaves thinner and
more deeply lobed than in the preceding
species; acorn cup covering about one-half
of the nut.
96
THE MISTLETOE FAMILY
(Loranthacece)
These curious little plants, in this region,
are parasites upon the branches and trunks
of evergreen trees which are thereby often
Fig. 40. Lesser mistletoe on lodgepole pine (^rcew^/joftiww
americanum)
deformed or are stimulated into putting out
a dense growth of stunted twigs or "witches'
97
TREES AND SHRUBS
brooms." Tlie stems of our mistletoes are
freely branched, leafless, except for tiny
scales, and are either yellowish or greenish
yellow in color.
They produce tiny flowers at the tips of
the branchlets followed by small white ber-
ries. The seeds are enveloped in a sticky
mucilage which causes them to stick to
twigs of the host trees where they may ger-
minate and take root.
The Lesser Mistletoes {Arceuthohium)
comprise most of the species which occur in
our region.
The limber pine and the lodgepole pine
bear Arceuthohium americanum.
The yellow pine is attacked by Arceutho-
hium crypto pod urn f while the piny on pine is
host plant to Arceuthohium divaricatum and
A. cyanocarpum.
These parasites often do considerable dam-
age to the trees upon which they grow by
lowering their lumber value.
The Juniper iMistletoe {Phoradendron juni-
perinum) is another mistletoe similar to the
foregoing but it is a parasite upon the
branches of the junipers. It is common es-
pecially in the western part of the region
upon the Utah juniper and the one-seed
juniper.
98
THE ELM FAMILY (Ulmacece)
The Elms and Hackberries
The Hackberry, Sugarberry (Celtis occi-
dentalis). This tree in our region is usually
Fig. 41. Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
TREES AND SHRUBS
a small tree, or sometimes stunted when grow-
ing in dry rocky places, and is mostly con-
fined to the foothills. It is usually found in
open gulches and canyons, on rocky hillsides
or sometimes among the rocks at the foot
of a cliff. It is nowhere plentiful. It is
a hardy and valuable tree for i)lanting. (This
includes Celtis reticulata of Rydberg's Flora
of Colorado.)
100
GOOSEFOOT FAMILY
( Chenopodiacece)
Most of the plants of this large family
are herbaceous and many of them are com-
mon weeds on waste ground and in cultivated
places.
The commonest shrubby members of the
family are the saltbushes and grease woods.
The Saltbushes (Atriplex)
More than a dozen species of this genus
occur in our region but of these three only
are here counted as shrubs. They are rather
low, freely branched, sometimes thorny, and
the foliage and stems are scurfy or silvery
and often have a salty taste. They grow in
alkaline soils or on clay banks and shale
ridges.
The flowers are small, staminate and pistil-
late separate, and the fruits are dry and some-
what winged. The presence of these plants
usually indicates a saline condition of the
soil.
1. Gray Saltbush, Orache, "Chicobrush"
101
Fig. 42. (a) Round-leaved saltbush (Atriplex conferti-
folia), (b) Gray saltbush {Alriplex canescens). (c) Hop
sage (Atriplex Nuttallii)
102
GOOSEFOOT FAMILY
(Atriplex canescens). A spreading shrub 2
to 3 feet high growing on clay banks and
alkaline soils of the plains and lower valleys
of the foothills of the region.
2. Nuttall's Saltbush {Atriplex Nuttallii),
A low shrub usually about one foot high;
Fig. 43, Grayia. (a) Grayia spinosa. (b) Grayia
Brandegii
leaves widest at the apex. It occurs on soils
with little or no saline properties, chiefly on
the plains.
3. The Round-leaf Saltbush {Atriplex con-
fertifolia), A somewhat spiny shrub 1 to
3 feet high of spreading habit, common
on saline soils from Wyoming southward
and westward. It sometimes forms dense
growths of considerable extent.
103
TREES AND SHRUBS
Very similar in general appearance to the
saltbushes are two species of Grayia which
differ from the former genus chiefly in having
the edge of the fruit toward the stem of the
plant while in the saltbushes the side of the
fruit is toward the stem. Two species occur
in our region. The first, G. spinosa, with
spiny stems 1 to 3 feet tall. The second, G.
Brandegiiy lower and without spines. They
occur in desert and alkaline soil chiefly in
the western part of the region and southward.
Fig. 44. Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus).
3wering branch showing staminate and pistillate flow-
;; fruiting branch
Fig
Flow
ers
104
GOOSEFOOT FAMILY
Greasewood (Sarcobatus)
1. Common Greasewood {Sarcobatus ver-
miculatus). A common shrub 2 to 8 feet
high growing on moist sahne soils and on
dry flats. In Colorado it occurs chiefly
through the southern half of the state, also
in North Park, on both sides of the moun-
tains. It is readily known by its narrow,
fleshy leaves and white-barked, spine-tipped
stems from which the fresh bark readily
slips when bruised.
Fig. 45. White sage or winter fat (Eurotia lanata).
Flowering branch; fruit with tufts of hairs, enlarged
Winter Fat, White Sage {Eurotia lanata).
This is a low shrub with many erect, white-
105
TREES AND SHRUBS
wooly branches from the woody base. It is
a conspicuous low plant on the plains and
hillsides between elevations of 4,000 and
8,000 feet over a large part of the region.
It is regarded as having considerable forage
value.
106
BUTTERCUP FAMILY
(Ranunculacece)
Clematis, Virgin's Bower
Common Virgin's Bower {Clematis ligus-
tieifolia). A somewhat woody vine which
Fig. 46. Clematis or virgin's bower (Clematis ligusticifolia)
clambers over rocks and bushes by means
of its twining leaf stalks. It occurs in can-
107
TREES AND SHRUBS
yons and along streams in the upper plains
and in the foothill zones. The abundant
white flowers are of two kinds, staminate
and pistillate on distinct plants, and the
pistillate flowers are followed in autumn by
feathery bunches of seedlike fruits. This is
a useful vine for ornamental planting on lat-
tices, arbors and fences.
108
THE BARBERRY FAMILY
(Berberidacece)
The plants of this family, in our region,
are all shrubs with simple or compound,
prickly leaves or stems, small yellow flowers
and fruit a berry. The stems and especially
the roots contain a bright yellow substance
(berberin) with very bitter taste and of con-
siderable medicinal value.
Key
a. Stems low and spreading; usually less
than one foot long.
1. B, aquifolium
a. Stems erect, usually two or more feet tall.
b.
b. Stems slender; 2 to 3 feet tall.
2. B. Fendleri
b. Stems stouter, 5 to 10 feet tall.
3. B, Fremontii
1. Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium).
This little shrub is found everywhere through
the mountains below 10,000 feet in canyons
109
TREES AND SHRUBS
and open woodlands from British Columbia
to New Mexico and California. The ever-
green leaves resemble those of the eastern
holly in some respects. Its common name
Fig. 47. Oregon grape {Berheris aquifolium)
is taken from the resemblance of its berries
to those of the wild grape.
2. Fendler's Barberry {Berheris Fendleri).
This barberry resembles the common bar-
110
THE BARBERRY FAMILY
berry from Europe but is not so tall. It
occurs on hillsides and in valleys in south-
FiG. 48. Fendler's barberry {Berheris Fendleri)
western Colorado and into New Mexico.
The oval berries are red.
3. Fremont's Barberry {Berheris Fre-
montii), A tall shrub of uncommon occur-
Ill
Fig. 49. Fremont's barberry {Berberis Fremontii)
112
THE BARBERRY FAMILY
rence in canyons among the mountains of
southern Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and
Arizona. The ovate berries are dark blue
when ripe.
lis
GOOSEBERRY FAMILY
{Grossulariaceoe)
Gooseberries and Currants
These are all shrubs with erect, spreading
or arching stems which sometimes take root
at the tips; leaves usually rounded in outline
and palmately lobed; flowers short and bell-
shaped or long and tubular; fruit a berry
with several small hard seeds.
The genus may be subdivided into two
parts as follows:
a. Stems usually prickly. The Gooseberries
b. Stems without prickles. The Currants
The following species are the commoner
ones of the region :
Key
a. Stems more or less prickly or spiny, b.
a. Stems without prickles, e.
b. Flowers 1-4 in a cluster; calyx tube
tubular or bell-shaped, c.
c. Spines single, short or lacking; stems usu-
ally prickly. 1. R. saxosum.
114
Fig. 50. Common wild gooseberry {Ribes saxosum)
115
TREES AND SHRUBS
c. Spines triple, long. 2. R. saximontanum
b. Flowers several in a cluster; calyx spread-
ing, d.
d. Fruit red. 3. R. lentum
d. Fruit black. 4. R. parvulum.
e. Flowers not yellow. f.
f. Berry bristly-hairy; berry black. g.
g. Calyx tube saucer-shaped.
5. R. color adense
g. Calyx tube bell-shaped.
6. R. Wolfii
f. Berry smooth; berry light red.
7. R. cereum.
e. Flowers yellow. 8. R. longiflorum,
1. Common Wild Gooseberry (Rihes sax-
osum). An undershrub with arching stems,
common in moist, shady places all through
the mountains from the upper plains into
the lower edge of the sub-alpine zone. The
berries are smooth, dark purple, when ripe,
edible but very tart.
The stems are sometimes nearly or quite
free from spines but are commonly somew^hat
prickly on some portion.
2. Rocky Mountain Gooseberry (Rihes
saxiinontanum) . A low% spreading shrub in
moist shady places throughout the moun-
tains of Colorado and Wyoming. The stout
spines are often in threes or triple-pointed,
116
GOOSEBERRY FAMILY
and the leaves are small and three-lobed.
The berries are reddish-purple and smooth
and are edible.
Fig. 51. Red-fruited gooseberry {Ribes lentum)
3. Red-fruited Gooseberry (Ribes lentum).
A low shrub with arching prickly stems grow-
ing in canyons in the sub-alpine zone through-
117
TREES AND SHRUBS
out the mountains. The flowers are greenish
or purplish white; fruit red, usually covered
with short glandular hairs; edible.
4. Small-fruited Gooseberry {Ribes par-
vuhim). A low, spreading shrub growing on
Fig. 52. (a) Small-fruited gooseberry {Rihes parvulum)
(b) Wolf's gooseberrj- (Ribes WoJfii)
rather dry hillsides and timbered slopes of
the mountains chiefly in the western parts
of Colorado northward and westward. The
berries are sm^all, nearly black, when ripe, and
are somewhat bristly.
5. Colorado Currant {Ribes coloradense) .
A spreading shrub with browTi bark occurring
in the mountains principally of western Col-
118
GOOSEBERRY FAMILY
orado. Leaves broad; fruit black, with a
bloom.
6. Wolf's Currant {Rihes Wolfii), This
shrub occurs in canyons and moist woods
Fig. 53. Red or squaw currant {Ribes cereum)
in the higher altitudes throughout Colorado
into Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. The
leaves are large, rounded and rather thick.
Fruit glandular, hairy when young, becom-
ing smooth when ripe; black with a bloom.
119
TREES AND SHRUBS
7. Red Currant, Squaw Currant {Ribes
cereiim). This is one of our common shrubs
on open hillsides from the upper plains to
the sub-alpine zone all over the region. It is
Fig. o4. d olden currant (Ribes longiflorvm)
easily recognized by its rather strongly
scented foliage and its light red, insipid fruit.
Several forms of the species are recognized
by botanists but they are not readily dis-
tinguishable by the layman. {R. inehrians
is the form in Colorado.)
Golden or Missouri Currant {Ribes longi-
floriim). This common shrub, of rather erect
habit, occurs among rocky outcrops on the
plains and in the foothills all over the region.
It is readily knowTi by its wedge-shaped,
mostly 3-lobed leaves, and especially by its
120
GOOSEBERRY FAMILY
fragrant, golden yellow flowers with long
tubular corollas.
The fruit is brownish or black and non-
acid when fully ripe. A form with yellowish-
red fruit of good flavor is found in rocky
places on the plains, in the northeastern part
of Colorado where it is gathered for domestic
purposes.
121
HYDRANGEA FAMILY
{Ilydrangeaceoe)
The plants of this family are shrubs or
undershrubs with opposite, simple leaves in
four ranks and showy white flowers.
Key
a. Leaves with toothed margins.
1. Jamesia {Edwinia)
a. Leaves with entire margins, b.
b. Flowers with more than ten stamens.
2. Mock Orange
b. Flowers with 10 stamens, or fewer.
3. Fendlera
1. Jamesia, Edwinia {Jamesia americana).
A somewhat spreading, freely branched shrub
of canyon walls and rocky slopes in the foot-
hills and montane zones where it forms one
of our common showy shrubs.
Although of rather slow growth it is a
suitable shrub for ornamental planting under
cultivation.
2. Western Mock Orange, Syringa {Phil-
122
Edwin J a
Fig. 55. Jamesia (Jamesia americana)
123
TREES AND SHRUBS
adelphus occidentalis) . This is a stiffly-
branched shrub of dry, rocky slopes and
canyons in the foothills of southwestern Col-
orado and bevond into Utah.
Fig. oQ. (a) Shiny-leaved mock orange {Philadel phus
nitidus). (b) Western mock orange (Philadel phus occi-
dentalis)
Two other species (P. nitidus and P.
micro phyllus) occur in the same region. They
differ from the first species in having leaves
that are smooth and shining on the upper
124
HYDRANGEA FAMILY
surface. (P. microphyllus is the common
species in Colorado.)
3. Yendlevs. {Fendler a rupicola). An erect
shrub with similar appearance and habit of
Fig. 57. Fendlera (Fendlera rupicola)
growth to that of the mock oranges. Its
leaves are long and narrow and the flowers
are white tinted with pink. It occurs in
the foothills of the southwestern part of
Colorado and in New Mexico and Arizona
where it is a somewhat common shrub among
pinyons and cedars.
125
THE ROSE FAMILY
(Rosacew)
This large and important family is rep-
resented in our region by nearly thirty genera
of which eleven contain shrubs. The leaves
are alternate on the stem, simple or compound
and possess stipules. The flowers are per-
fect and often large and showy. The fruits
are mostly small and seedlike or in some
species, berry-like.
Key
a. Leaves simple, b.
b. Fruits dry and seedlike, with feathery
tails, c.
c. Leaves toothed; fruits single.
1. Mountain Mahogany
c. Leaves deeply lobed; fruits several to
many. d.
d. Leaves with glandular dots; fruits 5.
2. Cliff Rose
d. Leaves without glandular dots; fruits
many. 3. Fallugia
b. Fruits various, without feathery tails, e.
126
THE ROSE FAMILY
e. Leaves opposite; stems spiny.
4. Coleogyne
e. Leaves alternate; stems not spiny, f.
f . Leaves bunched at end of twigs, 3-toothed,
small. 5. Antelope brush
f. Leaves mostly scattered along the twigs,
not 3-toothed. g.
g. Leaves white woolly beneath, merely
toothed. 6. False Meadowsweet
g. Leaves not white woolly beneath, more
or less lobed. h.
h. Flowers large; fruit berry-like.
7. False Raspberry
h. Flowers small; fruit not berry-like.
8. Ninebark
a. Leaves compound, i.
i. Stems without prickles; flowers yellow.
9. Shrubby Cinquefoil
i. Stems more or less prickly; flowers white
or pink. k.
k. Leaflets large, usually 3; fruit edible.
10. Wild Red Raspberry
k. Leaflets smaller, 5 or more; fruit non-
edible. 11. Wild Roses
1. Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus par-
vif alius). This is a very common shrub of
medium height, growing on hillsides and
rocky slopes chiefly among the foothills.
The small wedge-shaped leaves are somewhat
127
Fig. 58. Mountain mahogany, (a) {Cercocarpu,s intri-
catus). ib) (Cercocarpus parvifolius)
a ^ b
Fig. 59. (a) CliQvo&e {Cowania mexicana). (b) Fallugia
(Fallugia intricatus)
128
THE ROSE FAMILY
evergreen. The larger stems possess hard,
dark-colored heartwood, whence the name,
Mountam Mahogany. Another species {Cer-
cocarpus intricatus) of low, densely branching
habit, and with very narrow or linear leaves
Fig. 60. Coleogyne (Coleogyne ramosissima)
occurs in Wyoming, southern Colorado, Utah
and Nevada. It has the same, feathery-
tailed fruit as the first species.
2. Cliff Rose {Cowania mexicana). A
freely branched shrub 1 to 3 feet tall growing
in rocky places from northern Utah into
southern Colorado and beyond into Mexico.
The light colored, shreddy bark, the small
deeply lobed leaves with glandular dots,
the yellow flowers followed by clusters of
129
TREES AND SHRUBS
feathery-tailed fruits, usually 5 in number,
make this shrub rather easy to recognize.
3. Fallugia {Fallugia paradoxa). This is
a very low, erect branched shrub similar in
^'^^/ , ,,..
Fig. 61. Antelope brush (Purshia tridentata) . Flower-
ing branch natural size; leaf and flower twice natural
size
range, habit of growth and appearance to
the cliff rose but differs in having leaves
without glandular dots; white flowers and
clusters of numerous feathery-tailed fruits.
4. Coleogyne {Coleogyne ramosissima) . A
130
I
Fig. 62. False meadowsweet (Eolodiscus dumosus)
TREES AND SHRUBS
desert shrub similar to the two preceding
species but differing in having the branches
opposite and spiny-tipped. The flowers are
yellow, showy and are followed by single,
seedlike fruits with curved tip and attached
twisted style, hairy only at the base.
5. Antelope Brush {Purshia tridentata).
Within our range this shrub grows in the
form of a low densely branched bush on
dry rocky slopes and open places chiefly be-
tween 7,000 and 9,000 feet elevation. It is
readily known by its small, clustered leaves
which are three-toothed or lobed at the apex.
The flowers are yellowish-white in color,
about lo inch broad and are fragrant.
6. False Meadowsweet {Holodiscus dumo-
sus). A low shrub with slender erect stems
and large terminal clusters of minute flowers
of a whitish color. It occurs among rocks
or at the foot of cliffs in the mountains up to
9,000 feet elevation.
7. False Raspberry, Thimhleberry {Ruhus
deliciosus, Bossekia deliciosa). This is one of
our most common shrubs all through the
foothills and mountains up to 10,000 feet
altitude. It occurs among rocks on hill-
sides, but is especially frequent on the soil-
covered sides of canyons where, with its
abundance of large solitary white flowers, it
forms one of our showiest shrubs in early
132
m^0;jM^-/^--^'
Fig. 63. False raspberry {Ruhus deliciosus)
133
TREES AND SHRUBS
summer. The fruit closely resembles that of
the raspberries but is not well flavored. It
is sometimes sold by nurserymen for orna-
mental planting.
Fig. 64. Salmonberry {Ruhusparviflorus)
The salmonberry {Ruhus parviflorus). A
shrub of medium height growing among
trees and bushes principally along streams
and in canyons in the western parts of the
state. The leaves are 4 to 8 inches broad
and its rather large white flowers are borne
134
THE ROSE FAMILY
in clusters of 3-6. The fruit is large, red
and of good flavor.
8. Ninebark (Physocarpus, Opulaster),
The ninebarks are shrubs of low to medium
Fig. 65. Ramaley's Ninebark (Physocarpus Ramaleyi)
height with toothed or lobed leaves and
moderately small flowers in dense rounded
clusters. The bark on older stems separates
into thin shreddy layers from which feature
the common name is derived. The fruit
consists of from 1 to 5 small pods from
each flower. Four species occur within our
range.
185
TREES AND SHRUBS
Key
a. Leaves pubescent. (1) P. puhescens
a. Leaves glabrous, b.
b. Flower stalks with broad, often toothed
bracts. (2) P. Ramaleyi
b. Flower stalks with small narrow entire
bracts, c.
c. Low spreading shrub 12 to 30 inches tall;
pods 1 or 2 and united.
(3) P. monogynus
c. Upright shrub 3 to 5 feet tall; pods 3 to
5, separate except at the base.
(4) P. intermedins
(1) The Pubescent-leaved Ninebark {Pinj-
socarpus puhescens), is recorded as occurring
from Montana to Colorado and Utah. It
is not very common.
(2) Ramaley's Ninebark {Physocarpus
Ramaleyi), is chiefly found in canyons and
gulches among the lower foothills in Colo-
rado. It is a shrub of rather erect growth
3 to 6 feet high. It is a valuable ornamental
shrub as it does not sucker from the root.
(3) Low Ninebark {Physocarpus monogy-
nus). This low, spreading shrub is the most
common of our ninebarks. It grows in
rocky places in canyons and among the foot-
136
Fig. 66. Low Ninebark (Physocarpus monogynus)
137
TREES AND SHRUBS
hills and mountains up to 9,000 feet elevation.
It grows much larger under cultivation than
when wild, but suckers freely from the roots.
(4) Eastern Ninebark (Physocarpus in-
termedius). This species ranges from the
Fig. 67. Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiophora fruticosa)
Mississippi Valley to Central Colorado where
it is recorded as growing near Colorado
Springs and Boulder. It is a shrub 3 to 6
feet in height.
138
Fig. 68. Wild Red Raspberry {Rubus strigosus)
139
TREES AND SHRUBS
9. Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiophora fruti-
cosa). This is one of our common and orna-
mental shrubs of the northern half of the
continent. In our region it occurs chiefly
in open ground along streams and in mead-
ows and parks from 7,000 to 10,000 feet ele-
vation. It is readily known by its palmately
compound leaves with 5-7 hairy leaflets,
the shreddy brown bark of its stems and the
showy yellow flowers which are borne all
through the summer. It is an ornamental
shrub of easy gro\\i:h under cultivation.
10. Wild Red Raspberry {Ruhus strig-
osus). A common low shrub with prickly
stems, large compound leaves and small-
petaled white flowers followed by thimble-
shaped berries composed of many small
aggregated drupelets. It occurs all through
the mountains among trees and in open
burned-over areas up to 10,000 feet eleva-
tion. The fruit is of excellent flavor and is
often picked for the table.
11. Wild Rose (Rosa), The wild rose is
a familiar shrub to nearly everybody and,
as a genus, hardly needs a description. The
leaves are pinnately compoimd, with from
5 to 11 leaflets, and have large stipules
joined to the base of the petiole. The stems
are more or less prickly and in some species
two stouter prickles than the others grow
140
THE ROSE FAMILY
just below the stipules at each node of the
stem and are known as infrastipular spines
(below the stipules). The large white or
Fig. 69. Common Wild Rose (Rosa Sayi)
rose-colored flowers are followed by globular
or pear-shaped red fruits known as hips which
contain several bony seedlike fruits, the
141
TREES AND SHRUBS
styles of which project through the neckHke
upper part. The species are as difficult to
separate as the genus as a whole is easy to
recognize. Those which occur in our region
may be included within six species. Due to
their great variability and their tendency to
cross or hybridize, the species, as here de-
fined, should perhaps be considered as types
rather than as clearly distinct species.
Key
a. Fruit not prickly, b.
b. Infrastipular spines lacking, c.
c. Flowers usually solitary; sepals erect
(1) Rosa Sayi
c. Flowers in clusters; sepals spreading
(2) Rosa arkansana
b. Infrastipular spines usually present, d.
d. Leaf stalks more or less prickly.
(3) Rosa Fendleri
d. Leaf stalks without prickles, e.
e. Outer sepals laterally lobed.
(4) Rosa Woodsii
e. Outer sepals not lobed.
(5) Rosa Nutkana
a. Fruit prickly. (6) Rosa MacDougalii
(1) Common TMld Rose {Rosa Sayi),
This is a low prickly-stemmed rose usually
142
THE ROSE FAMILY
one or two feet tall which grows in open
woods and on hills all through the northern
Rocky Mountains into central Colorado.
Fig. 70. Wild Roses, (a) Rosa Woodsii. (6) Rosa
Nutkana. (c) Rosa arkansana
143
APPLE FAMILY {Pomacecp)
The members of this family are all slirubs
or trees with alternate, simple or compound
leaves, showy flowers and fleshy fruit called
a pome, such as that of the apple.
Key
a. Leaves simple, b.
b. Flowers and fruits solitary or few in a
cluster. 1. Peraphyllum
b. Flowers and fruits several to many in a
cluster, c.
c. Branches without thorns; seeds not bony.
2. Shad, Service Berry
c. Branches more or less thorny; seeds
bony. 3. Hawthorn
a. Leaves compound. 4. Mountain Ash
1. Peraphyllum (Peraphyllum ramosissi-
mum). This low, rigidly branched shrub is
not uncommon on dry hills and slopes, often
among cedars, in southern and v/estern
Colorado and westward and northward to
144
I
APPLE FAMILY
California and Oregon. Its fruits resemble
small apples and it is sometimes called
* * wild apple " locally.
2. Shad, Service Berry (Amelanckier) .
All of our species are shrubs with usually
Fig. 71. Peraphyllum {Peraphpllum ramosissimum)
toothed leaves, showy white flowers in clus-
ters and small, berry-like edible fruits. The
species are separable with some difficulty.
145
TREES AND SHRUBS
Key
a. Leaves and twigs glabrous when mature.
b.
b. Bud scales glabrous. (1) A glabra
b. Bud scales hairy, c.
c. Leaf blades elliptical. (2) A. elliptica
c. Leaf blades nearly circular to broadly
oval. (3) A. spicata
a. Leaves pubescent on both sides, d.
d. Leaves sharply toothed around the
apex. e.
e. Calyx and flower stems woolly; flower
clusters dense. (4) A. Bakeri
e. Calyx and flower stems glabrous; flower
clusters dense. (5) A. oreophila
d. Leaves entire or slightly toothed; flowers
few. (6) A. prunifolia
(1) Smooth Shad {Amelanchier glabra).
A stout shrub of southwestern Colorado and-
westward between 7,000 and 11,000 feet
elevation.
(2) Oval-leaved Shad (Amelanchier ellip-
tica). A slender treehke shrub in wet
ground in the mountains of Colorado, Wyom-
ing and Utah between 6,000 and 8,000 feet
elevation.
(3) Common Shad (Amelanchier spicata).
This is perhaps the most common of the
shads in our region. It occurs on hills and
146
Fig. 72. Common Shad (Amelanchier spicata)
K
Fig. 73. Plum-leaved Shad {Amelanchier prunifolia)
147
TREES AND SHRUBS
along streams up to 8,000 feet, and varies in
habit from a low spreading shrub to a small
tree 10 or hZ feet tall. The flowers are borne
in dense clusters and are followed in late
summer by purplish fruits of good quality
in aj)pearance like those of the blueberry.
(A. alnifolia).
(4) Baker's Shad (Anielanchier Bakeri).
A large shrub growing on dry hills of south-
ern Colorado. The flowers are smaller than
those of the preceding species.
(5) Shad (Amelanchier oreopkila). This
species occurs in Wyoming and western
Colorado in rather low densely crowded
clumps. The fruit is dry and insipid.
(6j Plum-leaved Shad {Amelanchier pnin-
ifolia). A bushy shrub of the dry mountains
of western Colorado up to an elevation of
8,000 feet.
3. Hawthorn, Thorn Apple (Cratoegus).
The ha^^i:horns are large shrubs or small
trees with thorny branches, simple, toothed
or lobed leaves, showy white flowers and
pomelike fruits containing 2 to 5 bony-cov-
ered seeds. The number of species recog-
nized is very large and they are diflScult
to separate by even the expert botanist.
Six species come within the range of this
work. Several of the species are suitable for
ornamental planting.
148
VII. ALPINE FIR IN THE SUB -ALPINE ZONE
Near Jackson's Hole, Wyoming
APPLE FAMILY
Key
a. Teeth of leaves tipped with glands, b.
b. Leaves small, less than % inch wide.
(1) C. saligna
b. Leaves large, usually more than 1 inch
wide. c.
c. Leaves thin; petioles without glands.
(2) C. cerronis
c. Leaves thick; petioles with glands.
(3) CDoddsii
a. Teeth of leaves without glands, d.
d. Twigs of the season glabrous; anthers
pink. (4) C. coloradensis
d. Twigs of the season woolly or pubescent;
anthers white, e.
e. Leaf blades 4 to 5 times as long as their
petioles; fruit broader than long.
(5) C. occidentalis
e. Leaf blades 2 to 3 times as long as their
petioles; fruit as long as or longer than
broad. (6) C. coloradoides
(1) Small-leaved Hawthorn {Cratoegus sal-
igna). A tall shrub, or slender and tree-
like, with long flexible branchlets armed with
slender black thorns. This species grows in
canyons of west-central Colorado up to ele-
vations of 7,000 feet. It is easily recognized
by its small narrow leaves and its black,
globular fruits.
149
TREES AND SHRUBS
(2) Shiny-leaved Hawthorn (Cratcrgus cer-
ronis). A small tree 0 to 18 feet tall with
spreading crown, stiff branchlets, rough-
Snia! I- 1 eaved morna pple
Fig. 74. Small-leaved Hawthorn (Crafoejus saligna)
barked trunk and stout thorns. Leaves
somewhat lobed or coarsely toothed, shiny
above. Fruit broT\Ti or nearly black.
Rather common in canyons and along
streams in the mountains of Wyoming and
Colorado up to 8,000 feet elevation.
150
APPLE FAMILY
(3) Thick-leaved Thornapple {Cratcegus
Doddsii). A shrub or small tree with dark,
red fruit growing in canyons of Colorado.
SF)iny-leaved Thornapple ~^^^^^
Fig. 75. Shiny-leaved Hawthorn (Cratcegus cerronis)
(4) Colorado Thornapple (Cratcegus colo-
radensis). A small tree 10 to 15 feet tall
with spreading crown, woolly flower stalks
and calyx and scarlet, edible fruit. It occurs
in canyons of the eastern slope of the moun-
tains in Colorado.
151
TREES AND SHRUBS
(5) Western Thornapple {Cratoogus occi-
dentalis). A tall shrub or sometimes a small
tree up to 30 feet tall, growing along streams
in North Dakota and Montana southward
into Nebraska and Colorado. In Colorado
it occurs in canyons of the eastern foothills
up to 6,000 feet elevation. The thorns are
slender; the leaves are short-stalked and the
fruits are somewhat longer than broad.
(6) Canyon Hawthorn {Craioegus colo-
radoidcs). This hawthorn resembles the pre-
ceding species in habit and size but is lim-
ited to the state of Colorado. It differs from
the western hawthorn in its longer leaf stalks
and its spherical red fruits.
Two other species of hawthorn iCratcegus
laurentiana and C. rivularis) have been re-
corded as occurring in Colorado but they are
not common and are not easily separable from
the foregoing species.
4. Mountain Ash. Pyrus (Sorbus).
Western Mountain Ash (Pyrus scopulina)
(P. sambucifolia in part.) This is a shrub
3-12 feet tall which occurs through the moun-
tains of the northwest and southward as far
as Colorado and Utah. Within our range it
is found growing in canyons and moist sandy
places up to 10,000 feet elevation. It is
readily known by its compound leaves with
9 to 15 leaflets, w^hich are 134 to -3^ inches
152
APPLE FAMILY
long, oblong-lanceolate, apex more or less
abruptly tapering, sharply and often doubly
serrate, glabrous on both sides, dark green
above, paler beneath; its flat-topped clusters
Fig. 76. Western Mountain Ash {Pryus scopulina)
of white flowers and its bright red berry-like
fruits. By some authors this is regarded as
the same as P. sitchensis of the northern
Rocky Mountains. The leaflets of our form
in the southern Rocky Mountains, however,
are usually larger with coarser teeth and are
more narrowly and gradually pointed than
in that form.
153
PLUM FAMILY {Dnipacece)
Shrubs or trees with simple leaves, showy
flowers followed by fleshy or pulpy fruits
which contain a single stone or pit within
which one seed de\'elops. Our species all
belong to one genus.
PLUMS iVND CHERRIES {Prunus)
Key
a. Flowers appearing before the leaves;
branches thorny. 1. P. americana
a. Flowers appearing with or after the
leaves; branches without thorns, b.
b. Flowers and fruits numerous, in elon-
gated dense clusters borne at the ends
of the twigs. 2. P. melanocarjpa
b. Flowers few or several, in short clusters
from the sides of the twigs, c.
c. Flowers more than 3 in a cluster; fruit
about 34 inch in diameter.
3. P. pennsylvanica
c. Flowers 1 to 3 in a cluster; fruit about ]/2
inch in diameter. 4. P. Besseyi
154
PLUM FAMILY
1. Wild Plum (Prunus americana). This
is the common wild plum of the eastern half
of the United States and the Rocky Moun-
tains. It is often abundant along streams
Fig. 77. Wild Plum. An old tree
and in the foothills where it frequently forms
thickets or becomes a small tree, up to 15
feet in height. The fruit is 3^ to ^ inch
long, yellow or red in color and of good flavor
when ripe. It is locally gathered for jam
and jelly. Several named varieties and
hybrids are in cultivation.
2. Western Chokecherry {Prunus melano-
carpa), A slender shrub or sometimes a small
155
TREES AND SHRUBS
tree up to 15 feet tall very common all
through the central Rocky ]Mountains and
northwestward. It usually occurs along
streams and among rocks on hillsides. It
Fig. 78. Western Chokecherry (Prunus melanocarpa)
is readily known by its dense racemes of white
flowers followed by crowded clusters of small
cherries which are black when ripe. Its fruit
is gathered locally for jams and jeUies.
3. Bird Cherry, Pin Cherry {Prunus penn-
sylvanica). This cherry varies from a low
156
1
PLUM FAMILY
shrub among rocks at liigher altitudes to a
small slender tree in moist locations at
lower elevations. From Colorado it extends
eastward and northward to the Atlantic
Fig. 79. Bird Cherry (Prvnus pennsylvanica)
coast states. Its small red fruits are thin-
fleshed and sour and are used but httle.
4. Western Sand Cherry (Prunus Besseyi).
This is a low, spreading shrub growing on
hillsides over much of the western plains to
the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Its
leaves are IJ^ to 234 inches long, one third
as wide, and are thick and shiny on the upper
side. The fruits are 3^ to 5^ of an inch in
diameter, nearly black when ripe, or some-
157
TREES AND SHRUBS
times yellowish red, and aiv valued for jel-
lies. A number of named hybrids between
the sand cherry and native species of plum
have been produced and are in cultivation
Fig. 80. Sand Cherry {Prunus Besseyi)
This species closely resembles the eastern
sand cherry, Prunus pumila, from which it
differs in having spreading instead of upright
strict branches and in its thicker, shinier
leaves.
158
PEA FAMILY {LeguminoseoB)
Herbs, shrubs, or trees with alternate,
mostly compound leaves and irregular flow-
ers, usually pea-shaped, followed by pods
known as legumes. This large and import-
ant family is well represented in this region
by nearly twenty genera and more than 200
species. The only ones which contain native
woody plants are the following two:
1. Locust (Robinia)
New Mexican Locust (Robinia neo-mexi-
cana). A coarse, prickly shrub or small tree
growing along streams in the lower foothills
of southern Colorado, in New Mexico and
Arizona. The prickles arise in pairs and
occupy the place of stipules. The flowers
are large, pea-shaped and rose-colored and
are followed by flat pods covered with stiff
hairs.
This locust occurs as far north as Denver
and is occasionally used for ornamental
planting.
159
TREES AND SHRUBS
2. False Indigo, Lead Plant (Amorpha)
These are shrubs with glandular-dotted,
compound leaves, small densely clustered
Fig. 8L New Mexican Locust (Robinia neo-mexicana)
purple flowers and small pods containmg one
or two seeds.
Key
a. Tall shrub, 3 to 8 feet tall; leaflets ^ to
2 inches long. 1. A.fruticosa
a. Low shrubs, usually not above 3 feet;
leaflets less than ^4 inch long. b.
160
PEA FAMILY
b. Shrub 1 to 4 feet tall; densely hairy.
2. A. canescens
b. Shrub not over 1 foot tall; not densely
hairy. 3. A. nana
1. False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), A
shrub of variable size and habit of growth.
Fig. 82. (a) False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa); (6)
Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens). (c) Fragrant False
Indigo (Amorpha nana)
sometimes tree-like, with large uncrowded
leaflets, 9 to 25 in number, and small purple
flowers in dense spikes. It occurs along
161
TREES AND SHRUBS
streams in eastern Colorado and northeast-
ward. It is sometimes planted as an orna-
mental shrub.
2. Lead-plant (Amorpha canescens). This
species differs from the other two species of
the genus chiefly in its very hairy stems and
leaves. The latter have numerous narrow
leaflets crowded upon their stalk. The flow-
ers are small, purple and densely crowded.
In our range this shrub occurs along the
Platte river, and eastward.
3. Low or Fragrant False Indigo {Amorpha
nana). This little shrub occurs near streams
on the prairies of the northeast and is found
on the plains close to the mountains in east
central Colorado. The flowers are dark
purple and fragrant.
162
BEAN CAPER or CALTROP FAMILY
(ZygophyllacecB)
This family is represented in our region by
two genera one of which consists of shrubs.
Fig. 83. Creosote Bush (Covillea tridentata)
Creosote Bush {Covillea tridentata). This
is a branchy strongly scented shrub 4 to 10
feet tall which grows on dry mesas from
southern Colorado south to Texas and west
to California. The yellowish green leaves
are opposite, and composed of two small
leaflets. The flowers are bright yellow and
163
TREES AND SHRUBS
the small dry fruit splits when ripe into five
parts. The shrub takes its common name
from the strong odor suggestive of creosote
which all parts contain.
164
RUE FAMILY (Rutacece)
Shrubs or small trees with dotted, aromatic
leaves, arranged alternately on the twigs.
Key
Leaves compound with 3 leaflets; shrub tall.
1. Ptelea
Fig. 84. Hop Tree (Ptelea irifoliata)
165
TREES AND SHRUBS
Leaves simple; low and woody only at base.
2. Thamnosma
1. Hop Tree (Wafer Ash) {Ptelea crenii-
lata). A tall shrub or small tree up to 20
Fig. 85. Thamnosma {Thamnosma texanum)
feet tall with small greenish-white flowers and
circular, wing-margined fruits. It occurs
along streams from southern Colorado into
Texas and west to California.
2. Thamnosma {Thamnosma texanum). A
166
RUE FAMILY
low shrubby plant, woody only at the base,
strongly scented and growing in arid ground
from southwestern Colorado southward into
New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Its flow-
ers are yellow tinged with purple.
167
SUMACH FAMILY (Anacardiacew)
Our s|>ecies are all shrubs with alternate,
compound leaves, small, imperfect flowers,
and fruit a small drupe or stone fruit. Three
species occur in our region and are included
in the genus Rhus.
Key
a. Erect shrubs; leaflets 9 to 31.
1. R. cismontana
a. Low or spreading shrubs; leaflets. 3. b.
b. Stems freely branched, 2 to 5 feet tall;
leaflets small; fruit red.
2. R. trUohata
b. Stems unb ranched, less than 3 feet tall;
leaflets large; fruit white.
3. R. Rydhergii
1. Rocky Mountain Sumach {Rhus cis-
moniana). A shrub 3 to 7 feet tall growing
on hillsides and in canyons throughout our
region. The leaves turn scarlet or orange in
fall which together with its deep red fruit
masses make this one of our most attractive
autumn shrubs. It is occasionally planted as
an ornamental shrub but suckers quite freely.
168
Fig. 86. Rocky Mountain Sumach (Rhus cismontana)
169
SUMACH FAMILY
2. Three-leaf Sumach, Squaw bush, Skunk
brush {Rhus trilohata). A shrub of spread-
ing habit common on rocky hillsides all
through our region up to 8,000 feet eleva-
tion. All parts of the plant emit a strong.
Fig. 87. Three-leaf Sumach {Rhus trilohata)
unpleasant odor when bruised. The fohage
becomes quite brilliantly colored in autumn.
3. Western Poison Ivy {Rhus Rydhergii)-
A not uncommon low shrub along streams
170
TREES AND SHRUBS
and among rocks and trees in the foothills
through the Rocky Mountains into Colorado.
It closely resembles the eastern poison ivy
(Rhus toxicodendron) and is considered by
Sumach Ig
Fig. 88. Western Poison Ivy (Rhus Rydhergii)
some botanists to be a non-climbing form of
that species. It bears the same bad repu-
tation as a poisonous plant when touched
and should be carefully avoided by all who
are susceptible to poisoning by the eastern
species.
171
STAFF-TREE FAMILY (CelastracecB)
This family is represented in our region
by one species (Pachystima myrsinites), a low
Fig. 89. Pachystima {Pachystima myrsinites)
trailing evergreen shrub growing among
woods in the mountains up to 10,000 feet
elevation. It occurs all through the Rocky
Mountains from British Columbia southward
to New Mexico and westward to California.
172
MAPLE FAMILY (Aceracece)
Shrubs or trees with opposite, simple or
compound leaves and double, winged, seed-
like fruits.
THE MAPLES (Acer)
a. Leaves simple, b.
b. A tall shrub, rarely a small tree;
fruit wings broad. 1. A. glahrum
h. Often treelike; fruit wings narrow.
2. A. grandidentatum
a. Leaves compound. 3. A, negundo
1. Rocky Moimtain Maple, Smooth Maple
{Acer glahrum). This little maple is common
along streams and in moist places among the
mountains of our region, also westward to
the coast where it becomes a tree. Its leaves
are sharply 3-lobed or rarely 3-parted or
even divided, and become attractively col-
ored in autumn. It is adapted to planting
as a large ornamental shrub.
173
Fig. 90. Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum)
174
MAPLE FAMILY
2. Large-tooth Maple (Acer grandiden-
tatum). This maple is uncommon in our
region but occurs along streams in central
Colorado (Pike's Peak), Utah and north-
FiG. 91. Large-tooth Maple {Acer grandidentatum)
ward through Wyoming. It differs from the
smooth maple in its larger size, and in the
rounded notches of the leaves.
3. Box Elder (Acer negundo). A rather
common tree of spreading form groT^-ing
along streams in the plains and in the foot-
hills up to 8,500 feet. The twigs are light
green, covered with a bloom and possess a
characteristic odor when bruised. The flow-
ers are staminate and pistillate borne on sep-
arate trees, and the double, winged fruits
are produced in elongated clusters.
The box elder is quite frequently planted
175
TREES AND SHRUBS
as a shade tree on the plains and becomes a
moderately large tree under cultivation.
Fig. 92. Box Elder (Acer negundo)
The sap, while not so sweet as that of the
eastern sugar maple, is capable of being used
for sugar making.
176
SOAPBERRY FAMILY (Sapindacece)
Shrubs or trees with alternate, compound
leaves without stipules, small 3 to 5-lobed or
Fig. 93. Wild China Berry (Sapindus Drummondii)
parted flowers, stamens and pistils in sep-
arate flowers, and fruit a berry (in ours),
177
TREES AND SHRUBS
with soap3' flesh. One genus, Sapindus, is
represented in our region.
Drumniond's Soapberry, Wild China
Berry, Indian Soaptree {Sajnjidus Drum-
mondii). A tree up to 50 feet tall with
grooved bark; leaves odd-pinnately com-
pound with 7 to 19 leaflets; small white flow-
ers and globular or oval translucent yellow-
ish berries with 1 to 3 black seeds. The
common name is derived from the soai)y
quality of the berries which have been em-
ployed as a substitute for soap.
It grows along streams and in canyons
among hills coming into our region from the
southeast and reaching southeastern Colo-
rado in Furnace Canyon, Baca County.
178
BUCKTHORN FAMILY (Rhamnacece)
Shrubs or small trees with simple alternate
or opposite leaves, small 4 to 5 parted flowers
and berry-like or dry fruits.
Key
Stout shrubs; fruit berry-like. 1. Rhamnus
Low spreading shrubs; fruit dry.
2. Ceanothus
1. Buckthorn {Rhamnus Smithii)
This shrub bears some resemblance to the
chokecherry. The leaves, however, are
nearly opposite on the twigs and are glossy
on the upper surface. The small greenish
flowers are usually solitary in the axil of the
leaves and are followed by black berry-like
fruits containing two nut-like seeds. It is of
infrequent occurrence, along streams from
northwestern Colorado, (between Craig and
Meeker), southward into New Mexico.
179
TREES AND SHRUBS
2. New Jersey Tea {Ceanothus)
Key
a. Spiny shrubs. 1. C. Fendleri
a. Spineless shrubs, b.
b. Leaves small, pubescent, deciduous.
^. (\ molUifinms
b. Leaves large, shiny, evergreen.
8. C. velutinus
1. Fendler's New Jersey Tea {Ceanothus
Fendleri). A low spiny bush common on
hillsides and mountain slopes up to 9,000
feet elevation from Wyoming to New Mex-
ico and Arizona. The leaves are 3^ to 1
inch long, narrowed toward the base and
pubescent underneath. The small white
flowers are in simple, terminal clusters.
2. Hairy New Jersey Tea {Ceanothus mol-
lisimus). This little shrub resembles the
preceding species in habit of growth but
is without spines, the twigs are dingy gray
and pubescent or somewhat woolly and the
flowers are borne in the axils of the leaves
as well as in terminal clusters. Its range is
in Colorado and Wyoming.
3. Mountain Balm {Ceanothus velutinus).
This is a rather common hillside shrub of
spreading habit, often forming extensive
patches, in open places among trees through
180
Fig. 94. Buckthorn {Rhamnus Smithii)
Fig. 95. New Jersey Tea. (a) (Ceanoihus Fendleri)
(b) (Ceanoihus mollisimus)
181
TREES AND SHRUBS
the montane zone up to 9,000 feet elevation.
It is easily known by its large shiny leaves,
wliich remain green over winter, and by its
Fig. 96. Mountain Balm {Ceanothus velutinus)
profusion of minute sweet-scented, white
flowers in densely branched clusters. Its
range is from Central Colorado northward
to British Columbia and westward to Cal-
ifornia.
182
GRAPE FAMILY (VitacecE)
Ours are slender woody vines climbing by
means of coiling tendrils; flowers small,
greenish; fruit a bluish-black berry.
Key
Leaves simple.
Leaves compound.
1. Vitis
2. Parthenod^sus
1. Riverbank Grape, Wild Grape {Vitis
indpina). A somewhat common climbing
Fig. 97. Wild Grape {Vitis vulpina)
vine among bushes and trees along streams
in eastern Wyoming and Colorado and east-
ward to the Atlantic region. The fruit is
183
TREES AND SHRUBS
often gathered for jellies after the early
autumn frosts.
Fig. 98. Woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)
2. Virginia Creeper, American Ivy (Par-
thenocissus vitacea). This is our most com-
184
GRAPE FAMILY
mon woody climber among bushes and trees
near streams along the eastern side of the
mountains from Wyoming southward through
Colorado, southward and eastward. It is
readily known by its palmately compound
leaves with 5 leaflets. It is very commonly
used for covering arbors and lattices. Its
leaves become brilliant red or scarlet in
autumn.
185
CACTUS FAMILY (Cactacece)
Green, fleshy or occasionally somewhat
woody-stemmed plants usually armed with
clustered spines. The stems differ much in
shape, being globular, columnar, cylindrical
or flattened and jointed and are, in some
species, ribbed or covered with small knobs
or tubercles. Most of them are leafless
plants, the green stems taking the place of
leaves. The flowers are often very showy
and consist of numerous sepals, petals and
stamens. The fruit is usually pulpy and
filled with numerous seeds, and may be
either smooth, scaly, or prickly.
The plants of this peculiar family are able
to resist the dry hot air of the desert and are
common in the arid portions of the United
States. The species which occur in this
region are grouped into four genera which
differ greatly in size, shape and structure.
Only two of our species merit the name of
shrub, the others being fleshy-stemmed
perennials.
186
Fig. 99. Forms of cacti, (a) Purple Ball Cactus
{Mamillaria vivipara). (b) Hedgehog Cereus (Echino-
cereus viridiflorus) . (c) CaLjxe Csictus {Ojpuntia arbor escens)
Fruiting branch and joint with pulp removed
187
TREES AND SHRUBS
Key
a. Stems globular or egg-shaped, not jointed;
leafless; spines without barbs, b.
b. Flowers arising from between the tub-
ercles; ovary naked. 1. Mamillaria
b. Flowers arising from the tubercles or
ribs; ovary scaly, c.
c. Flowers nearly terminal. 2. Echinocactus
c. Flowers lateral on the stems.
3. Echinocereus
a. Stems, consisting of flattened or cylin-
drical joints; leaves small, falling early;
spines minutely barbed. 4. Opuntia
1. Ball or Pin Cushion Cactus {Mamil-
laria). Small globose plants with yellow,
Seed(in<^
Fig. 100. Flower, fruit and seed of Purple Ball Cactus
(Mamillaria vivipara) Enlarged
188
CACTUS FAMILY
red or purple flowers which appear from near
the center of the stem in spring. Four spe-
:i
M
Fig. 101. Rooted joints of stem of Brittle Prickly Pear
Cactus (Opuntia fragilis). Barbed prickle
cies distributed quite generally over our
region are to be found.
2. Hedgehog-thistle Cactus (Echinocac-
tus). These are somewhat larger plants
189
TREES AND SHRUBS
than the preceding and vary from glolnilar
or cushion-shaped to short cyHndric. They
are either covered with tubercles or are
ridged lengthwise. The flowers arise from
near the center of the stems and are yellow-
ish-green, rose-colored or purplish. Three
species occur in this region, chiefly in the
southwestern part.
3. Cereus ( Echinocereufi) . The stems of
these plants resemble in shape those of the
first two genera but are definitely ridged and
bear the flowers below the center or uj)on
the sides. In some species the stem is
branched so as to form dense clusters or
masses of considerable size. The flowers
vary in color from yellowish-green to crim-
son and deep purple. Five species occur
in our region principally from southern Colo-
rado southward and westward.
4. Prickly Pear (Opuntia). These are
readily recognized by their jointed, branch-
ing stems which are flattened or cylindrical
and which bear small fleshy leaves of short
duration upon the newer growth. The spines
are clustered and usually of two kinds; long
and stout ones with clusters of numerous
small ones at their base. All of the spines
are barbed and are therefore diflScult to
remove when lodged in the skin of a person.
In some species their distribution is readily
190
CACTUS FAMILY
effected by means of the separated joints of
stem becoming attached by the spines to
STiqma
Fig. 102. Flower of a prickly pear cactus (Opuntia poly-
acantha) and section
the legs or muzzle of grazing animals. The
large, showy flowers vary from yellow to
* ■ "■' 'C^'R*^-'^
Fig. 103. Fruit of a prickly pear without spines {Opuntia
humifusa)
191
TREES AND SHRUBS
red and purple. The fruit is often somewhat
pear-shaped and covered with tufts of the
smaller prickles. Eleven species are re-
corded for our region of which two are woody-
stemmed and regarded as true shrubs.
Tree Cactus, Cane Cactus iOpuntia arbor-
Ciiceihs), An erect, somewhat raggedly
branched cactus 3 to 15 feet tall growing on
the plains and on hillsides from central Col-
orado to Texas and Arizona. The stems
are sometimes freed from bark and pith and
used for souvenir canes. With its large
purple flowers 2 to 3 inches across the plant
is beautiful when in full bloom. It occurs as
far north as Colorado Springs and has occa-
sionally been employed as an ornamental
shrub in dry places.
Davis Prickly Pear (Opuntia Davisii).
This differs from the preceding species in its
low spreading stems, 1 to 2 feet tall which
are densely branched, and in its yellowish
flowers. It extends from Texas northward
into southwestern Colorado.
192
I
OLEASTER FAMILY {Elceagnacece)
Shrubs or trees with scurfy twigs and foK-
age due to the presence of minute silvery or
brownish scales. The small flowers are
either perfect, or stamens and pistils in sep-
arate flowers with 4-parted calyx border.
The fruit is a small drupe or stone fruit.
Key
Leaves alternate; fruits silvery. 1. Elceagnus
Leaves opposite; fruit red or yellowish.
2. Shepherdia
1. Silverberry (Eloeagnus argentea), A
shrub 3 to 10 feet tall with oval leaves, per-
fect flowers with 4 stamens and small silvery
drupes. Moist ground from Utah through
Wyoming north eastward.
2. The Buffalo Berries {Shepherdia).
Key
Tall shrub or small tree; thorny.
(1) S. argentea
Low to medium shrub; thornless.
(2) S. canadensis
193
flowering
twigs from
staminate
and
pistillate
trees
Fig. 104. Buffalo Berry {Shepherdia argentea)
194
OLEASTER FAMILY
(1) Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia argentea).
This is a common tall thicket-forming shrub
or sometimes a small tree 10 to 15 feet tall
Canada BUFp-ALp^/ltR-^
Fig. 105. Canada Buffalo Berry {Shepherdia canadensis)
growing along streams from the plains into
the foothills up to 7,000 elevation through-
out the region. Staminate and pistillate
flowers are borne on different plants; the
bright red fruit is edible but tart and is some-
195
TREES AND SHRUBS
times used for jellies. This shrub grows well
under cultivation although somewhat incUned
to sucker from the roots.
(2) Canada Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia can-
adensis), A lower, more spreading shrub
than the preceding species, with brownish-
scurfy twigs and leaves and very bitter fruit.
It occurs in open woodlands all through the
mountains up to 12,000 feet elevation. It
has not, thus far, been successfully trans-
planted by the writer.
196
DOGWOOD FAMILY (Cornacece)
Mostly shrubs or small trees with usu-
ally opposite, simple leaves and small flow-
ers crowded into flat-topped or rounded
clusters terminating the new growth. The
Fig. 106. Red Osier, Dogwood {Cornus siolonifera)
fruit is drupe-like or berry-like and in our
species, white or lead-colored when ripe.
Two species of shrubs occiu' in our range.
1. Red Osier, Dogwood (Cornus stoloni-
fera) . A rather common shrub along streams
197
TREES AND SHRUBS
and in moist half-shaded ground through
Colorado, Wyoming and eastward. The
smooth stems become bright purplish-red in
winter, making it an attractive shrub for the
landscape border. It suckers rather freely
and is easily transplanted. The fruit is
whitish or lead-colored.
2. Bailey's Dogwood {Cortws Baileyi).
Has the same range and habits as the i)re-
ceding species. It differs from the former
in its somewhat woolly young growth and in
the flattened stone of the white fruit. Its
stems are bro\\Tiish in winter and it may be
employed as the other species.
198
HEATH FAMILY (Ericacece)
The members of this family, in om* region,
are all low tufted, trailing or creeping shrubby
plants with simple, mostly evergreen leaves;
flowers with 4 to 5 parted calyx, free from
the ovary, united petals and stamens with
elongated anther cells which open at the
tips to discharge their pollen; fruit a 2 to 5-
celled capsule or berry.
Key
a. Fruit a dry capsule; erect bog plants, b.
b. Corolla saucer-shaped with 10 sacs for
the anthers. 1. Kalmia
b. Corolla bell-shaped or urn-shaped, with-
out sacs for the anthers, c.
c. Leaves evergreen; linear and heath-like,
2. Phyllodoce
c. Leaves deciduous; oblong or oval.
3. Menziesia
a. Fruit berry-like; stems prostrate or trail-
ing, d.
d. Calyx fleshy, surrounding the pistil when
ripe. 4. Gaultheria
d. Calyx not fleshy, nor surrounding the
pistil. 5. Arctostaphylos
199
TREES AND SHRUBS
1. Pale Laurel (Kalmia polifolia). A
dwarfish shrub from 4 to 20 inches tall with
2-edged twigs, opposite leathery evergreen
leaves and saucer-shaped pinkish purple
corollas about f/o inch across. It grows in
boggy places in the mountains mostly be-
FiG. 107. Pale Laurel (Kalmia polifolia)
tween 10,000 and 11,000 feet elevation from
Colorado northward across the continent.
2. Mountain Heath (Phyllodoce empetri-
formis). A low, densely branched often
matted shrub up to 20 inches tall with alter-
nate, leathery evergreen leaves, with rolled
edges, and small bell-shaped rose-colored
flowers. It grows in swampy or moist ground
200
Fig. 108. (a) Creeping Wintergreen (Gaultheria hum-
ifusa). (b) Mountain Heath (Phyllodoce empetriformis)
Fig. 109. Menziesia (Menziesia ferruginea)
201
TREES AND SHRUBS
in the sub-alpine zone in the mountains
from Colorado northward to Alaska and
westward to California.
3. Menziesia (Menzicsia ferrnginea) . A
shrub 3 to 6 feet tall with deciduous leaves
Kinnikinick
Fig. 110. Kinnikinnick (Arciostaphylos uva-ursi)
more or less coated with rusty brown scales.
The small flowers are nearly globular in
shape and greenish purple in color. It
202
HEATH FAMILY
occurs from Yellowstone Park to Oregon
and Alaska.
4. Creeping Wintergreen {Gaultheria humi-
fusa) . A very low depressed, green-stemmed
shrubby plant with rounded, evergreen leaves
and white or pinkish flowers followed by
scarlet berrieso It grows in woodlands in
the sub-alpine zone from Colorado north-
ward and westward.
5. Bearberry, Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphy-
los uva-ursi). This is a common trailing
vinelike shrub all through the mountains up
to 10,000 feet elevation growing chiefly on
wooded slopes and among rocks. Its leaves
are evergreen, about 1 inch long, thick,
leathery and narrowed toward the base.
The small urn-shaped flowers are white or
pink and the berries red.
203
HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY
(VacciniaceoB)
The shrubs of this family closely resemble
those of the Ericaceae from which they differ
chiefly in their deciduous instead of ever-
green leaves, in our species, and in having
the calyx united with the ovary to form the
berry. Our species all belong to the genus
Vdccinium.
Key
a. Flowers in clusters of 2 to 4.
1. V. occidentale
a. Flowers solitary, b.
b. Plants mostly less than 1 foot tall. c.
c. Branches not angled.
2. V. coBspitosum
c. Branches angled, d.
d. Berries purplish-black; leaves J^ inch long
or more. 3. V. oreophilum
d. Berries red; leaves less than 3^ inch long.
4. V. scoparium
b. Plants taller, up to 3 feet; berries black.
5. V. memhranaceum
204
Fig. 111. (a) Mountain Bilberry (Vaccinium oreophilum)
(6) Dwarf Bilberry (Vaccinium caespitosum)
Fig. 112. Small-leaved Bilberry {Vaccinium scoparium)
205
TREES AND SHRUBS
1. Western Huckleberry {Vaccinium occi-
dentcde). A shrub 1 to 3 feet tall coming into
the mountains of Wyoming from the north-
west.
2. Dwarf Bilberry (Vaccinium coEspito-
sum), A low tufted upright shrub with
round branches and leaves J^ to % inch long;
pink or red flowers and blue-black edible fruit.
It is a common small shrub of the forest floor
in the mountains of the northwest and south-
ward into Colorado where it occurs between
8,000 and 12,000 feet elevation.
3. Mountain Bilberry (Vaccinium oreo-
philum). A low branched shrub mostly
less than one foot tall growing in the moun-
tains up to 12,000 feet elevation as far south
as New Mexico. It differs from the dwarf
bilberry chiefly in its 4-angled stems and its
somewhat larger size.
4. Small-leaved Bilberry (Vaccinium sco-
parium). This common little shrub of the
sub-alpine forests often grows in dense
patches a few inches tall. The very slender
stems are green, angled and erect and give
the plant a broomlike appearance. The
leaves are the smallest of our species being
about 3^ inch long. The small berries are
bright red and edible.
5. Tall Bilberry (Vaccinium membrana-
ceum). This, the tallest of the species of
206
-f
n w^
. :t*
VIII.
ENGELMANN SPRUCE FOREST
In the sub-alpine zone
HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY
the region, reaches northern Wyoming from
the northwest. Its habits are similar to the
other species, the fruit is blue-black and
edible.
207
OLIVE FAMILY (Oleacece)
Shrubs or trees with opposite simple or
pinna tely compound leaves without stipules;
flowers usually small, 2 to 4 parted, calyx
and ovary separate and fruit dry or fleshy.
Key
Fruit dry, winged; leaves compound (simple
in species 2). 1. Fraxinus
Fruit fleshy, a drupe; leaves simple.
2. Forestiera
Ash (Fraxinus)
Trees with strong tough wood, pinnately
compound leaves (rarely simple), small
flowers without petals, staminate and pis-
tillate on separate trees, and narrow, seed-
like, wing-margined fruits.
1. Green Ash {Fraxinus pennsylvanica
var. lanceolata). A tree occasionally 60 feet
tall with rounded crown, narrow-ridged
scaly bark on old trunks, smooth and reddish
on the branches. The leaves are 6 to 12
S08
Fig. 113. Green Ash {Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lance-
olatd)
209
TREES AND SHRUBS
inches long with 5 to 7 leaflets bright green
on both sides. The fruits are usually about
Ij^ inches long with slender body and nar-
row wing margin toward the apex. Along
Fig. 114. Simple-leaved Ash (Fraxinus anomala)
streams, coming into eastern Wyoming along
the Platte river. This tree is extensively
planted as a shade tree in the plains region.
2. Simple-leaved Ash (Fraxinus anomala).
A small shrubby tree 10 to 20 feet tall growing
in canyons of southern Colorado, Utah, New
210
OLIVE FAMILY
Mexico and Arizona. This unusual species
has mostly simple, occasionally compound
leaves, and fruits with the wing extending
their full length.
New Mexican Forestiera {Forestiera neo-
mexicana). A shrub 3 to 10 feet tall growing
Fig. 115. Forestiera (Forestiera neo-mexicana)
on hillsides from southern Colorado into New
Mexico and Texas. The simple leaves are
about 1 inch long, smooth and narrowed into
a short petiole. The flowers are small and
the fruits are dark colored drupes.
211
NIGHT-SHADE FAMILY
{SolanacecB)
A large family, chiefly of herbaceous plants
with alternate simple leaves, perfect flowers
with 5-lobed calyx and corolla, 5 stamens and
mostly 2-celled ovary and fruit free from the
calyx. The fruit is either a berry or a dry
pod or capsule. Only one genus of shrubs
occurs in this region.
MATRIMONY VINE
{Lycium)
Shrubs or woody vines with somewhat
spiny stems, alternate entire leaves, showy
flowers and berry-like red fruits.
Of the four species which occur in the
southern Rocky Mountains, and westward,
the following is the common one for our
range:
Pale Matrimony Vine {Lycium pcdlidum).
A somewhat spiny shrub 2-4 feet tall, grow-
ing on dry rocky hillsides from southwestern
2U
NIGHT-SHADE FAMILY
Colorado to Utah, Texas, Arizona and Cali-
fornia. The corolla is yellowish with pur-
plish tints and the berries are red.
Fig. 116. Pale Matrimony Vine {Lycium pallidum)
213
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
(Capri foliacece)
Mostly shrubs having opposite leaves with-
out stipules; flowers perfect, the calyx and
ovary united, corolla 5-lobed or parted, usu-
ally 5 stamens and a 2- to 5-celled berry,
drupe or capsule.
Key
a. Leaves simple, b.
b. Fruit a drupe with 1 flattened stone or
pit. 1. Viburnum
b. Fruit berry-like with 2 or more seeds, c.
c. Corolla regular in shape; berry 2-seeded.
2. Symphoricarpos
c. Corolla irregular in shape; berry more
than 2-seeded. 3. Lonicera
a. Leaves pinnately compound.
4. Sambucus
1. Arrow- WOOD, Snowball (Viburnum)
Ours are shrubs with flat-topped clusters
of white flowers and red or black fruit with
a single, flat stone or pit.
214
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
Key
Leaves pinnately veined; fruit blue-black.
1. V. lentago
Leaves palmately veined; fruit red.
2. V. pauciflorum
Fig. 117. Arrow Wood {Viburnum pauciflorum)
1. Black Haw (Viburnum lentago). A
tall shrub or sometimes a small tree with
finely toothed margin and oval, blue-black,
edible fruit. It occurs along streams and
in woods coming into our region from the
north and has been recorded as far south as
Boulder, Colorado.
2. Arrow- wood, Withrod (Viburnum
pauciflorum), A straggling shrub 1 to 5 feet
tall growing in woods and near streams on
moist ground in the mountains up to 9,000
feet elevation. Its leaves are usually 3-lobed
and toothed on the margin. The small
white flowers are in small clusters at the top
215
TREES AND SHRUBS
of the stems and are followed by red, acid
fruits. It extends from Colorado north-
ward and eastward into Canada and west
to Alaska.
2. Snowberry, Buckbrush, Wolfberry
( Sy m ph 0 ricarpos)
The shrubs of this genus are low but erect
and branching, with short-stalked leaves
which are entire or wavy-margined, or some-
what lobed on vigorous shoots. The flow-
ers are pinkish white and borne in small
clusters. The berries are white or red and
often last into the winter. Each of the four
species in our region possesses one variety.
All are adapted to cultivation.
Keij
a. Corolla short bell-shaped, about J/g inch
long. b.
b. Leaves thick; stamens and style protrud-
ing. 1. S. occidentalis
b. Leaves rather thin; stamens and style
not protruding. 2. S. racemosus
Si. Corolla long bell-shaped or nearly tubu-
lar; 34 to 3^ inch long. c.
c. Leaves finely pubescent, rounded.
3. S. rotundifolia
c. Leaves glabrous or nearly so, oval and
pointed. 4. S. oreophilus
216
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
1. Wolfberry (Symphoricarpos Occident-
alls). A common low shrub 1 to 3 feet tall,
growing along streams and on hillsides up
to 8,000 feet elevation, extending from Colo-
rado northward into Canada. Berries white.
Fig. 118. Wolfberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis)
2. Snowberry {Symphoricarpos racemosus) ,
Shrub similar to the preceding species but
with thinner leaves with commonly entire
margin, and fewer flowers. The berries are
globular and white. Variety pauciflorus is
smaller and fewer-flowered than the species.
3. Round-leaved Snowberry {Symphori-
carpos rotundifolius). Shrub 2 to 3 feet tall
with small rounded leaves and flowers about
217
TREES AND SHRUBS
]/^ inch long. The berries are globular or ob-
long and white. Less frequent than the pre-
ceding species but occurring throughout our
region. The variety vaccinioides has pubes-
cent leaves, oval to lanceolate in shape, and
shorter flowers than the species. It occurs
through the mountains in our region.
4. Mountain Snowberry (SympJwricarpos
oreophilus). A low or erect slender shrub up
to 5 feet tall with small, usually entire-
margined leaves and tubular or funnel-shaped
flowers }/^ to 3^9 ii^ch long, and white oblong
berries. It grows on wooded slopes in the
higher mountains up to 10,000 feet elevation.
Variety utahensis has larger leaves and more
numerous flowers than the species but is
similar in other respects.
The Coral-berry (Symphoricarpos vulgaris)
which differs from the other species in having
densely clustered red berries which remain on
through the winter, has been recorded as
occurring near Manitou, Colorado.
3. Honeysuckle (Lonicera)
Erect shrubs or woody twining vines with
opposite entire leaves and showy flowers in
terminal clusters or borne at the base of the
leaves in pairs. The corolla is often swollen
on one side and more or less two-lipped or
irregular. The fruit is a berry
218
Fig. 119. (a) Snowberry (Symphoricarpos racemosus).
(6) Round-leaved Snowberry {Symphoricarpos rotundi-
folius)
Fig. 120. Mountain Snowberry (Symphoricarpos ore-
ophilus)
219
^ TREES AND SHRUBS
Key
a. Stems climbing or spreading; flowers in
head-like clusters. 1. L. glaucescens
a. Stems erect; flowers in pairs, b.
b. Flower bracts small or wanting, c.
c. Leaves pale; berries blue-black.
2. L. cceridea
c. Leaves green; berries red. 3. L. idahensis
b. Flower bracts enlarged and leafy.
4. L. mvolucrata
The first three species occur only in the
northernmost part of our region in rocky
woods and on moist mountain sides. The
flowers are yellow and are followed by berries
in pairs with the minute calyx at the tip.
4. Involucred Honeysuckle (Lonicera in-
volucrata). A very common erect shrub 2 to
6 feet tall with oval, pointed leaves 2 to 4
inches long and yellowish corollas with large,
leafy bracts at the base. After the corollas
drop the bracts enlarge and become purplish
with the two shiny black berries in the center.
It occurs all through the mountains in moist
woods up to 9,000 feet elevation. It does
well under cultivation.
Elder (Samhucus)
The elders are chiefly shrubs, occasionally
trees, with erect stems containing large
220
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
pith, opposite pinnately compound leaves,
small white flowers in compound, terminal
clusters and small berries containing 3 bony
seeds. They possess a strong, rank odor
Fig. 121. Involucred Honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata)
when bruised. Some of them are used for
onamental planting in the shrub border.
The fruit of some kinds is edible.
221
TREES AND SHRUBS
Key
a. Flower cluster flat-topped; pith of young
stems white, b.
b. Stems treelike; fruit blue-black.
1. S. glauca, var. neo-mexicana
b. Stems shrubby; fruit purple-black.
2. S. canadensis
a. Flower cluster not flat-topped; pith of
young stems yellowish brown, c.
c. Fruit black. 3. S. vielanocarpa
c. Fruit red 4. S. racemosa
1. New Mexican Elder {Sambucus glauca
var. neo-mexicana). Tall shrub, or treelike,
6 to 12 feet tall, with long-lived stems or
trunk. The berries are black covered with
a bluish bloom. It grows in the upper levels
of the mountains from central Colorado
southward into New Mexico and Arizona.
2. Common Elder {Sambucus canadensis).
This is the elder bush found all over the
northeastern part of the continent and south
to Florida. It is a common weedy shrub
along fences and roadsides in the east but
is confined to the mountains of our region
where it is infrequent. Its fruit is edible and
is quite extensively used in cooking and for
flavoring jellies.
3. Black-berried Elder {Sambucus melano-
222
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
carpa), A shrub of infrequent occurrence in
the mountains of Colorado and northwest-
ward.
4. Red-berried Elder (Samhucus racemosa).
This is the common elder of the higher moun-
FiG. 122. Red-berried Elder {Samhucus racemosa)
tains throughout the region. It grows in
woodlands and on moist hillsides between
elevations of 7,500 to 12,000 feet and is
readily recognized by its red berries in rather
small clusterso (S. microbotrys of some
authors.)
22S
SUNFLOWER OR COMPOSITE
FAMILY (Compositce)
Plants with chiefly minute flowers (florets)
crowded together in dense clusters or heads
and surrounded by a calyx-like circle (in-
volucre), of more or less leafy or chaff like
scales or bracts, the whole appearing like one
flower.
The florets are of two kinds: ray florets
and disk florets. In the ray florets the
corolla is a single flat piece like a small tube
that has been slit open and spread out toward
one end. In the disk florets the corolla is
commonly tubular or funnel-shaped with 5
teeth or lobes at the summit. The calyx is
represented by small scales, bristles or hairs
(pappus) growing around the base of the
corolla, or it may be entirely lacking. Both
calyx and corolla stand on top of the ovary.
The stamens are commonly 5 and united
by their anthers or they may be lacking
especially in the ray florets.
The ovary ripens into a dry, seed-like fruit
which bears the pappus, when present, upon
224
SUNFLOWER OR COMPOSITE FAMILY
its summit. In some species the ray florets
form the outermost circle while the center
of the head is filled with disk florets. In
others the whole head may consist of one
kind of floret.
This is the largest family of flowering
plants in the region and contains more than
100 genera in our region alone. Eight of
these are-made up wholly or in part of woody-
stemmed plants. The family as a whole is
quite easy to recognize but the genera and
species are exceedingly difficult to separate
by any but the trained botanist.
The following genera contain species which
are sufficiently woody to be properly classed
as shrubs.
a. Leaves without sagelike odor and taste.
b.
b. Bracts of the involucre 10 or more, not
stiff and woolly, c.
c. Stems smooth; flowers yellow, perfect.
1. Chrysothamnus
c. Stems striate or ribbed; flowers white, or
yellowish-white, imperfect.
2. Baccharis
b. Bracts of the involucre 4 to 6, stiff and
woolly. 3. Tetradymia
a. Leaves with strong sagelike odor and
taste. 4. Artemisia
225
TREES AND SHRUBS
1. Rabbit Brush, False Goldenrod
{Chrysothamnus)
Shrubby or partly woody plants with
naked, often shiny white, or somewhat woolly
stems and leaves, the latter narrow and en-
tire; flower heads numerous with narrow
involucres and containing 5 to 30 disk florets
with golden yellow corollas. The seedlike
fruits (achenes) are pubescent and bear a
tuft of dull white hairs (pappus). The plants
of this genus have recently been investigated
as a possible commercial source of rubber, a
substance which they contain in small
amounts.
A large and diiOScult genus containing
nearly 20 species in our region. The follow-
ing common species well represents the genus :
Common Rabbit Brush {Chrysoihamnus
graveolens). A common bushy plant 2 to
5 feet tall with numerous whitish slender
branches clustered upon the woody rough-
barked older stems. The leaves are slender,
2 to 3 inches long and sharp-pointed.
The flower heads are produced in dense
clusters at the tips of the new^ growth and
often persist until winter in a flowering con-
dition. Growing on the plains and up to
elevations of 8,000 feet throughout the re-
gion, commonly on dry ground.
226
SUNFLOWER OR COMPOSITE FAMILY
Fig. 123. Rabbit Brush (Chrysothamnus graveolens).
Flower head; flower; fruit
2. Groundsel Tree, Pencil Tree
(Baccharis)
More or less shrubby plants with simple
alternate leaves and branches with narrow
ribs or striations. Flower heads with im-
perfect flowers, the staminate and pistillate
heads on distinct plants; achenes striate-
ribbed and bearing long crinkled-bristly pap-
pus hairs. Two of our species are woody
only at the base while the third and fourth
are shrubs.
Willow-leaf Baccharis (Baccharis salicina).
A branching shrub 3 to 12 feet tall growing
227
TREES AND SHRUBS
in saline soil in the plains zone from Kansas
and Texas to Colorado and New Mexico.
Emory's Baccharis (Baccharis Emoryi).
An erect shrub with slender branches, ob-
FiG. 124. Willow-leaf Baccharis {Baccharis salicina)
long leaves and flower heads with blunt outer
scales. Its range is like that of the preced-
ing species.
3. Tetradymia
Low branching shrubs with woolly-hairy
twigs and leaves. Flower heads with 4 to
SUNFLOWER OR COMPOSITE FAMILY
6 large, stiff woolly scales, and 4 to 9 yellow
disk florets. The achenes are densely cov-
ered with long white hairs. The two follow-
ing species which come well within our range
are representative of the species:
Plant without spines.
Plant spiny.
1.
T. inermis
T. spinosa
1. Smooth Tetradymia (Tetradymia iner-
mis). A spreading shrubby plant with erect
Fig. 125. (a) Spiny Tetradymia {Tetradymia spinosa).
(b) Smooth Tetradymia (Tetradymia inermis)
tufted branches from a woody base. Grow-
ing on dry hills up to 9,000 feet elevation.
TREES AND SHRUBS
2. Spiny Tctradymia {Teiradymia sj>inosa),
A stiflfly-branched shrub 2 to 4 feet tall with
white woolly twigs and curved, spinelike
leaves. Growling on dry hills along the
western slope of the mountain range.
4. Sagebrush, Wormwood (Artemisia)
Herbs or shrubs with bitter taste and
aromatic sagelike odor; leaves alternate,
simple, entire, or toothed, lobed or parted
into linear divisions. Flower heads small
with few to many minute whitish or yellow
disk florets. Achenes minute, without pap-
pus.
The whole plant is commonly gray-green
in color due to the presence of fine silky or
woolly hairs. A large and diflficult genus,
with more than twenty-five species and sev-
eral varieties in our region.
The following are representative of the
shrubby species:
a. Leaf blades deeply 3-cleft or parted into
very narrow segments, b.
b. Leaf segments filiform.
1. A.filifolia
b. Leaf segments linear. 2. A. trifida
a. Leaf blades entire or 3-toothed at apex. c.
230
SUNFLOWER OR COMPOSITE FAMILY
c. Shrub low; leaves linear and mostly
entire. 3. A, cana
c. Shrub medium to tall; leaves 3-lobed at
apex. 4. A. tridentata
1. Thread-leaved Sage {Artemisia fili-
folia). Shrubby at the base, with slender
Fig. 126. (a) Sage Brush (Artemisia tridentata). (b)
Thread-leaved Sage (Artemisia filifolia)
nearly erect white-hairy branches 1 to 2 feet
high and 3-parted leaves with threadlike
divisions. Common on dry plains from
TREES AND SHRUBS
Nebraska and Wyoming to Texas and
Arizona.
The Mountain Sage (Artemisia frigida)
differs from the preceding in being only
Fig. 127. (a) Hairy Sage (Artemisia cana). (b) Three-
lobed Sage (Artemisia trifida)
slightly woody at the base and in having
nearly simple herbaceous stems and leaves
divided two or three times into short linear
divisions. The whole plant is covered with
soft silky hairs giving it a gray-green effect.
232
SUNFLOWER OR COMPOSITE FAMILY
It is a very common plant over the whole
of our region and has been employed medi-
cinally under the name of *' Rocky Mountain
Tea."
2. Three-lobed Sage (Artemisia trifida),
A silky-hairy, much branched shrubby plant
1 to 2 feet tall with narrow, entire upper and
3-parted lower leaves, the lobes linear or
somewhat widened at the apex. On dry
elevated plains of the region.
3. Hairy Sage (^r^^mmacana). A white-
hairy, freely branched shrub 1-3 feet tall,
with narrow-lanceolate, entire or sometimes
2- or 3-toothed leaves. On dry plains and
slopes up to 10,000 feet elevation through
the mountains from the north into Colorado.
4. Sagebrush, Black Sage (Artemisia tri-
dentata), A shrub 2 to 15 feet tall from the
great plains to California and in the moun-
tains up to 9,500 feet elevation. This is
the common sagebrush of the dry plains
and mountain slopes west of the Missouri
river. It often covers extensive areas with
a ragged shrubby growth difficult to traverse.
Its presence as the dominant vegetation is
usually regarded as an indication of a fertile
soil.
233
TREES AND SHRUBS
Shej^ih —
a 6 c <f e
Fig. 128. Forms of leaves, (a) Simple, pinnata, lance-
olate leaf with serrate margin. (6) Simple, palmate,
5-lobed leaf with serrate margin, (f) Compound, pinnate
leaf with 5 leaflets, {d) Compound, palmate leaf with 5
leaflets, (r) Needle-like leaves of a pine held together by
a sheath at base.
234
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
Alternate. See leaf.
Anther. That part of a stamen which con-
tains the pollen.
Catkin. A more or less elongated flower cluster
composed of many small flowers crowded to-
gether between little scales. The flowers us-
ually all either staminate or pistillate, as in
the willows and cotton woods and birches.
Calyx. The outer set or circle of parts, sepals,
of a flower, usually green in color.
CoNELET. A little cone especially in the flower-
ing condition.
Corolla. The set or circle of parts, petals,
just inside the calyx of a flower, usually the
largest and showiest part of the flower.
Drupe. A fruit with a stone or pit enclosed
by a fleshy or juicy covering, as in the cherry,
plum and hackberry.
Entire. Without teeth, lobes or divisions, as
the margin of a leaf.
Filament. The slender stalklike part of a
stamen.
Filiform. Very slender, threadlike.
Gland. A small wartlike body or organ which
secretes a liquid.
235
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
Leaf. The more or less flattened or expanded
organ which grows upon the stem of a plant
at the nodes. A complete leaf consists of a
air of stipules, a stalk or petiole, and a
blade, the flattened portion. Some leaves are
without stipules and petiole.
Arrangement. — Leaves are alternate when
single or one at a node; opposite when in
pairs, one on each side of the stem; whorled
when three or more come cut around the
stem at the same node. When a branch is
very short and the nodes close together the
leaves on it appear in a cluster.
A simple leaf is one with a single blade all
in one piece. A compound leaf is one in
which the blade is divided into several leaf-
lets all attached to a common petiole.
The veins form the framework of the blade.
The principal veins or ribs may branch from
along the sides of the central vein or midrib
or they may radiate from the upper end of the
petiole at the base of the blade. The former
are called pinnate leaves, the latter palmate
leaves.
The leaves of pines, spruces and firs are
needle-shaped while those of the junipers and
cedars are either awl-shaped or short and
scalelike. In the last case they are flattened
against the twig upon which they grow and
which they cover.
In some plants the leaves are nearly or wholly
wanting as in the joint firs and most cacti.
236
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
In such cases the stems are usually green in
color and do the work of leaves.
Leaflet. One of the small blades of a com-
pound leaf.
Linear. Very narrow for the width; usually
applied to leaves.
LoBED. Cut into or partly divided, as the
margin of a leaf.
Node. The place on the stem which normally
bears a leaf and where buds and branches arise.
Opposite. (See leaf.)
Ovary. The lower or basal part of the pistil
of a flower within which the ovules and seeds
are borne.
Ovule. The little seedlike bodies in the ovary
of a flower which become seeds after being
fertilized and matured.
Pappus. The hairs, bristles or similar append-
ages at the tip of the seedlike fruits of plants
of the sunflower family.
Petal. One of the parts or divisions of the
corolla of a flower.
Petiole. The stalk or stem of a leaf.
Pistil. That part of the flower which contains
the ovules and later the seeds and which
matures to form the fruit.
Pistillate. Having pistils but no stamens, as
a pistillate flower.
Pollen. The fine dustlike powder produced
by the stamens of a flower. The fertilization
of the ovules, so that they may become seeds,
is brought about by the pollen.
237
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
Pome. A fruit having the structure of an apple
or pear. It is sometimes small and herry-
like in appearance.
Sepal. One of the parts or divisions of the
calyx.
Stamen. The organ of the flower which pro-
duces the pollen. The parts of the stamen
are filament and anther.
Staminate. Having stamens but no pistils, as
a staminate flower.
Stigma. The tip of the pistil which receives
the pollen during blossoming of the flower.
Stipule. One of the two small appendages
found at the base of the petiole of many leaves.
Stipules may be quite large and leaflike or
small and scalelike or in some cases they are
in the form of prickles.
Style. The more or less elongated slender part
of the pistil which joins the ovary and the
stigma. It is sometimes wanting.
238
INDEX
Abies, 45
Abies arizonica, 48
Abies concolor, 49
Abies lasiocarpa, 46
Acer, 173
Acer glabrum, 173
Acer grandidentatum, 175
Acer negundo, 175
AceracecB, 173
Alder, 88
Almond Willow, 79
Alnus, 88
Alnus tenuifolia, 88
Amelanchier, 145
Amelanchier Bakeri, 148
Amelanchier elliptica, 146
Amelanchier oreophila, 148
Amelanchier prunifolia, 148
Amelanchier spicata, 146
Amorpha, 160
AnacardiaceoB, 168
Andrews' Birch, 90
Antelope Brush, 132
Apple Family, 144
Apple, Thorn, 148
Arceuthobium, 98
Arceuthobium americanum,
98
Arceuthobium cryptopodum,
98
Arceuthobium cyanocarpum,
98
Arceuthobium divaricatum,
98
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, 203
Arrow-wood, 215
Artemisia cana, 233
Artemisia filifolia, 231
Artemisia frigida, 232
Artemisia tridentata, 234
Artemisia trifida, 233
Ash, Green, 208
Ash, Mountain, 152
Aspen, 76
Atriplex canescens, 101
Atriplex confertifolia, 103
Atriplex Nuttallii, 103
B
Baccharis Emoryi, 228
Baccharis salicina, 227
Ball Cactus, 188
Balm, Mountain, 180
Balsam, 46
Balsam Fir, 45
Balsam Poplar, 74
Barberry Family, 109
Barberry, Fendler's, 110
Barberry, Fremont's, 111
Bearberry, 203
Bear Grass, 64
Beech Family, 92
Berberis, 109
5eiw/a, 88
BetulacecB, 86
Bilberry, 206
Birch, Andrews', 90
Birch, Bog, 90
Birch, Canoe, 90
Birch, Paper, 90
Birch, Rocky Mountain, 88
Black Haw, 215
Blueberry, 206
Blue Spruce, 38
Bossekia, 132
INDEX
Box Elder, 175
Bristle-cone Pine, 27
Buckbrush. ilii
Buckthorn Family, 179
Buffalo Berry. 193, 195
Buttercup Family, 107
Cactacecp, 186
Cactus, Ball, 188
Cactus, Cane, 192
Cactus Family, 18G
Cactus, Hedgehog-thistle,
189
Cactus, Pincushion, 188
Cactus, Prickly Pear, 190
Caltrop Family, 163
Canada Buffalo Berry, 196
Caprifoliacecr, 214
Ceanoihus Fendleri, 180
Ceanothus molli»imu.<i, 180
Ceanothus velutinus, 180
Celastraceop, 172
Celtis occidentalis, 99
Celtis reticulata. 100
Cercocarpus intricatus, 129
Cercocarpus partijolius, 127
Cereus, 190
Chenopodiacece, 101
Cherry, Bird, 156
Cherry, Choke, 155
Cherry, Sand, 157
Chicobrush, 101
China Berry, 178
Chrysothamnus grareolens,
226
Cinquefoil, Shrubbv, 140
Clematis, 107
Cliff Rose, 129
Coleogyne ramosissima, 130
Colorado Oak, 94
Colorado Spruce, 38
CompontcB, 224
Cork-bark Fir, 48
CornaceoB, 197
Cornus Baileyi, 198
Cornus stolonifera, 197
Corylus rostrata, 86
Cottonwood, Broad-leaf, 70
Cottonwood, Lance-leaf, 75
Cottonwood, Narrow-leaf,
70
Cottonwood, Wislizeni's, 70
Covillca triJcntata, 163
Cowania mexicana, 129
Cratcegus cerronis, 150
Crataegus coloradensis, 151
Cratcegus coloradoides, 152
Crat(pgus Doddsii, 151
Crataegus occidentalis, 152
Crataegus rivularis, 152
Crataegus saligna, 149
Creeping Willow, 84
Creeping Wintergreen, 203
Creosote Bush, 163
Currant, Colorado, 118
Currant, Golden, 120
Currant, Missouri, 120
Currant, Red, 120
Currant, Squaw, 120
Currant. Wolfs, 119
Dasiophora fruticosa, 140
Desert Juniper, 54
Dogwood Family, 197
Douglas Fir, 42
Drupaceae, 154
E
Echinocactus, 189
Echinocereus, 190
Edwitiia, 122
Elaeagnaceae, 193
Elaeagnus, argentea, 193
Elder, Common, 220
Elder, Red-berried, 223
Elm Family, 99
Engelmann Spruce, 41
Ephedra antisyphilitica, 59
Ephedra Torreyana, 60
Ephedra trifurca, 61
Ericaceae, 199
Eurotia lanata, 105
240
INDEX
FagacecB, 92
Fallugia paradoxa^ 130
False Indigo, 160
False Meadowsweet, 132
False Raspberry, 132
Fendlera rwpicola, 125
Fendler's Barberry, 110
Fendler's Willow, S3
Fir, Alpine, 46
Fir, Balsam, 46
Fir, Concolor, 49
Fir, Cork-bark, 48
Fir, Douglas, 44
Fir, Joint, 59
Fir, Red, 44
Fir, White, 49
Forestiera N eo-mexicana,
211
Fraxinus anomala, 210
Fraxinus Pennsylvanica
var. lanceolata, 208
Gaultheria humifusa, 203
GnetacecB, 59
Golden Currant, 120
Goldenrod, False, 226
Gooseberry Family, 114
Goosefoot Family, 101
Grape, Oregon, 109
Grape, Wild, 183
Grayia Brandegii, 104
Grease wood, 105
Green Ash, 208
Grossulariaceae, 114
Hackberry, 99
Hawthorn, 148
Hazelnut, 86
Heath Family, 199
Heath, Mountain, 200
Holodiscus dumosus, 132
Honeysuckle Family, 214
Hop-tree, 166
Huckleberry Family, 204
Hydrangea Family, 122
Hydrangeacece, 122
Ivy, American, 184
3
Jamesia americana, 122
Joint Fir Family, 59
Juniper, Creeping, 54
Juniper, Desert, 54
Juniper, Low, 52
Juniper, Utah, 54
Juniperus communis var.
montana, 52
Juniperus monosperma, 55
Juniperus prostrata, 54
Juniperus scopulorum, 56
Juniperus utahensis, 54
K
Kalmia polifolia, 200
Kinnikinnick, 203
Laurel, Pale, 200
Lead Plant, 160
LeguminosecB, 159
LiliaceoB, 62
Lily Family, 62
Limber Pine, 30
Locust, New Mexican, 159
Lodgepole Pine, 34
Lonicera ccerulea, 220
Lonicera glaucescens, 220
Lonicera involucrata, 220
Lonicera utahensis, 220
Loranthacece, 97
Lycium pallidum, 212
M
Mamillaria, 188
Maple Family, 173
Ul
INDEX
Maple, Large-tooth, 175
Maple, Smooth, 175
Matrimony Vino. 'iH
Meadowsweet, False, 13i
Menzicsia fvrruginca, 20i
Missouri Currant, liO
Mistletoe, 97
Mistletoe, Juniper, 98
Mistletoe, Lesser, 98
Mock OranKo. Ui
Mountain Ash, 154
Mountain Halm. IHO
Mountain Ho^ Birch. 90
Mountain Maho^'any, li7
Mountain Maple, 173
N
Narrow-leaf Cottonwood,
70
New Jersey Tea, 180
Nightshade Family, 212
Ninebark, 135
Nut Pine, 36
O
Oak, Colorado, 94
Oak, Scrub, 95
Oak, Utah, 93
OleacecE, 208
Oleaster Family, 193
Olive Family, 208
Opulaster, 135
Opuntia arborescens, 192
Opuntia Daiisii, 192
Orange, Mock, 122
Oregon Grape, 109
Pachystima myrsinites, 172
Pale Laurel, 200
Paper Birch, 90
Parthenocissus, 184
Pea Family, 159
Peach-leaf Willow, 79
Peraphyllum ramosissimum,
144
Philadelphus microphyllus,
124
Philadelphus nitidus, 124
Philadelphus occidentalis,
122
Phorandendron junipcri-
num, 98
Phyllodoce empetriformis,
200
Physocarpus intermedius,
138
Physocarpus monogynus,
130
Physocarpus puhcscens, 130
Physocarpus Ramaleyi, 130
Picea Engelmanuii, 41
Picca pungens, 38
PinaceoF, 25
Pine, Bristle-cone, 27
Pine Family, 25
Pine, Limber, 30
Pine, Lodgepole, 34
Pine, Nut, 30
Pine, Pinyon, 30
Pine, Rock, 32
Pine, Western Yellow, 32
Pirius, 20
Pirius aristata, 27
Pinus contorta var. Mur-
ray ana, 34
Pinus edulis, 30
Pinus flexilis, 30
Pinus ponderosa var. sco-
pulorum, 32
Pinyon Pine, 30
Plum Family, 154
Plum, Wild, 155
Poison Ivy, 170
Pomaceae, 144
Poplar, 68
Populus acuminata, 15
Populus Andrewsii, 76
Populus angustifolia, 70
Populus balsamijera, 74
Populus Sargentii, 70
Populus tremuloides, 76
Populus Wislizenii, 70
Prunus americana, 155
Prunus Besseyi, 157
U2
INDEX
Prunus melanocarpa, 155
Prunus pennsylvanica, 156
Pseudotsuga taxifolia, 42
Ptelea crenulata, 166
Purshia tridentata, 132
Pyrus, 152
Q
Quercus Gambellii, 96
Quercus Gunnisonii, 95
Quercus leptophylla, 94
Quercus undulata, 94
Quercus utahensis, 93
Quercus Vreelandii, 95
R
Rabbit Brush, 226
RanunculacecB, 107
Raspberry, False, 132
Raspberry, Wild Red, 140
Rhamnacece, 179
Rhamnus Smithii, 179
jRAm5 cismontana, 168
iJAw5 Rydhergii, 170
i2AM5 trilohata, 170
i?t6e5 cereum, 120
i2z6e5 coloradense, 118
iJt6e5 lentum, 117
Ribes longifiorum, 120
i?i6e5 parvulum, 118
Ribes saximontanum, 116
jRz6e5 saxosum, 116
iJiSes ^o(^i, 119
Rohinia neo-mexicana, 159
Rock Pine, 32
i?05a arkansana, 142
i2o5a Fendleri, 142
iJo^a MacDougalii, 142
/Josa Nutkana, 142
Bo5a (Sayz, 142
i2o5a Woodsii, 142
Rosace CE, 126
Rose, Cliff, 129
Rose Family 126
Rubus deliciosus, 132
Rubus parviflorus, 134
Rubus strigosus, 140
RutacecB, 165
S
Sagebrush, 230
SalicaceoB, 67
Sa/za: amygdaloides, 79
(SaZix exigua, 82
(SaZia: Fendleriana, 83
(SaZrx glaucops, 84
^SaZtar Gyeriana, 82
iSa^i'x luteosericea, 82
Sa7tx Nuttallii, 82
<Sa/ix petrophila, 84
«Sa^ix rostrata, 81
(SaZix saximontana, 84
iSaZzx stenophylla, 82
(Sa^zx Wrightii, 81
Salmonberry, 134
Saltbush, 101
Sambucus canadensis, 222
Sambucus glauca, 222
Sambucus melanocarpa, 222
Sambucus neo-mexicana, 222
Sambucus racemosa, 223
Sand Cherry, 157
SapindacecB, 177
Sapindus, 178
Sarcobatus vermiculatus, 105
Service-berry, 145
Shad, 145
Shepherdia argentea, 195
Shepherdia canadensis, 196
Shrubby Cinquefoil, 140
Silver-berry, 193
Skunk-brush, 170
Snowberry, 216
Soapberry, 178
Soapweed, 64
Solanaceoe, 212
Sorbus scopulina, 152
Spanish Bayonet, 64
Spruce, 38
Spruce, Blue, 38
Spruce, Colorado, 38
Spruce, Douglas, 44
Spruce, Engelmann, 41
Spruce, Silver, 38
243
INDEX
Squawbush, 170
Squaw Currant. 120
Staff Tree Family, 172
Sumach Family. 16S
Sunflower Family, 224
Symphoricarpos occident-
alis, 217
Symphoricarpos oreophiluf,
218
Symphorirarpos racemosus,
217
Symphnrirarpos rotundifo-
liu.s, 217
Symphoricarpos vulgaris,
218
Tetradymia inrrmis, 229
Teiradymia spinosa, 230
Thamnosma texanum, 1C6
Thimbleberry. 132
Thorn Apple, 148
u
Vlmacecr, 99
Utah Juniper, 54
Vacriniaccar, 204
Vaccinium ccespitosum, 206
Vacriitium membranaccum,
20G
Vaccinium occidentale, 206
Vaccinium oreophilum, 206
Vaccinium scoparium, 206
Viburnum lentago, 215
Viburnum, paucifiorum, 215
Virginia Crcrppr. 184
Virgin's Bower, 107
Vi^acc(T. 183
T'l'^ij rulpina, 183
w
Wafer Ash. 166
White Fir. 49
Wild r.ooseberrv. 116
WiM Plum. 15.-)
Wil.l Red Raspberry, 140
Willow. Heaked. 81
Willow Family. 67
Willow. Fendier's, 83
Willow, Glaucous-sleramed,
82
Willow, Oyer's, 82
Willow, Narrow-leaf. 82
Willow, Nuttall's. 82
Willow. Peach-leaf, 79
Willow, Pussy. 82
Willow, Rocky Mountaiii
Creeping. 84
Willow, Sub-alpine. 84
Willow, Western Rlack, 81
Winter Fat, 105
Wintergreen, Creeping, 203
Wolf berry, 216
Woodbine, 184
Wormwood, 230
Yucca baccata, 66
Yucca glauca, 64
Y'ucca Harrimanicp, 66
ZygophyllaceoB, 163
^44
Jl: Selection from the
Catalogue of
G. P. PUTNAMS SONS
Complete Cataloi^ues •enS
on appUsation
Field Book of
American Wild
Flowers
By
F. Schuyler Mathews
New Edition. 12*
Being a Short Description of their
Character and Habits, a Concise Defi-
nition of their Colors, and Incidental
References to the Insects which Assist
in their Fertilization. With 24 Repro-
ductions in Water-Color, and Numer-
ous Pen-and-ink Studies from Nature
by the Author.
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
Field Book of American
Trees and Shrubs
By
F. Schuyler Mathews
Author of •* Field Book of American Wild Flower*,**
" Field Book of Wild Bird* and Their Mu.ic**
/6°. With 120 lUustratiom, 16 in Color,
and 43 Maps
Uniform isiih the volumes on "Wild Birds"
and "Wild Flowers*'
Mr. Mathews's earlier books, dealing with
American Wild Flowers and Wild Birds, are a
sufficient guaranty that his volume on American
Trees and Shrubs will be not only artistic in
form but also will possess scientific accuracy
and value. The book covers the entire terri-
tory of the United States. An important feature
i^, a series of maps showing the habitat of the
various species.
New York G. P. Putnam's Sons London
Field Book of
Western WUd
Flowers
By
Margaret Armstrong
/6°. Over 600 pages. 500 Black and White,
48 Color, Illustraiions
In collaboration with Prof. J. J.
Thornber of the University of Arizona
and Botanist of the Arizona Agricul-
ture Experiment Station at Tucson.
Bound uniform with the Field Books
of Schuyler Mathews. This is the
first time that an adequate field book
has been presented for the use of flora
lovers, living or visiting west of the
Rockies. 48 illustrations in color and
500 in black and white supplement the
very useful text. Technical and bo-
tanical names have been translated
into ordinary English.
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
The
Field Book of Insects
With Special Reference to Those of the North-
eastern United States, Aiming to
Answer Common Questions
by Frank E. Lutz
Associate Curator, Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology,
American Museum of Natural History
16°, About 300 Illustrations, Many in
Color, by Edna F, BeutenmuUer
Flex, do. Flex, lea.
Hints concerning collecting, breeding, preserv-
ing, and classifying insects; "catch characters,"
rather than lengthy descriptions, by which com-
monly observed insects, and insects which would
repay observation, may be recognized; outlines
of interesting or economically important insect
life histories ; and an untechnical but scientifi-
cally accurate text.
Uniform with Schuyler Mathews's books of
Birds, Flowers, and Trees.
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
ro
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